


Sealed With a Kiss

by Mellowyellowdiamonds



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, But he has a soft spot for Felicity, F/M, Fake (but kind of real) marriage with a twist, Felicity seduces Oliver, Felicity works for ARGUS, Oliver is supposedly a hardened killer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 16:32:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14265111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellowyellowdiamonds/pseuds/Mellowyellowdiamonds
Summary: A mistake in her youth sees Felicity Smoak trapped working for ARGUS. One night during a bungled mission she crosses paths with Oliver Queen, a prominent figure in Starling deemed dangerous by ARGUS. Wanting to capitalise on the obvious hold Felicity has over Oliver during their very brief meeting, Amanda Waller levels Felicity with an ultimatum that she has no choice but to obey.***On temporary hiatus***





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Guys!!!!
> 
> I am baaaack again with another plot bunny! Lol I can hear you all groan!
> 
> Okies disclaimers (haha you're probably familiar wiht them all by now).
> 
> 1\. Melodramatic - Read at your own risk. 
> 
> 2\. Bits ripped off from/inspired by various Chinese series 
> 
> 3\. There is this SUPER dramatic scene in one of the series I watched that I have been wanting to Olicitise since forever so I conjured up this entire story just to get to this scene! Heee let's hope it makes the cut or else I'll be super pissed! 
> 
> 4\. You guys who read a lot of my stuff are well aware of my style by now. I am a super boppy, super cheerful writer. This is my attempt at something darker which is likely to be terrible since I am fighting my chirpy nature! But damnit I want to groooooow! hehe I can definitely hear you all groan =P
> 
> 5\. Happily Ever After - Because I have now come to realise that I like Happily Ever Afters so this will end happily like all my stories do! 
> 
> Now that we've got through all that, I hope you like it!!!!!!

“Overwatch how long until the files download?” John’s calm crisp voice enquires in Felicity’s ear, giving nothing away in terms of how he felt about her being on this mission. The fact that he was asking the question at all let Felicity know he was worried about her.

“It’s loading Spartan, ten more minutes and I’ll be in the clear.” Felicity glances around not expecting to see anyone. Still she could feel her heart hammering away in her chest and the compulsion to fidget as she waits for the files to download. According to their intel Oliver Queen was in another city. ARGUS was not expecting any trouble tonight. This data extraction from Queens Consolidated had been half a year in the making with the Wicked Witch of the West (aka Amanda Waller) sending her in as a lowly pleb to work for Queens Consolidated. She had every right to be here tonight, updating all the software during the graveyard shift was part of her job criteria as a lowly minion. For a moment Felicity reflected that despite the menial work and her horrible supervisor at QC, if this really was her life it wouldn’t be half bad. Insignificant yes but free. No longer dancing on the ropes controlled by Waller.

Forcing herself to stop thinking about what could have been Felicity glances at a picture of Oliver Queen and his family displayed on his desk. “So this is what a family of Big Bads looks like,” Felicity thought to herself. With the exception of Thea Queen the rest of the Queen family were a piece of work. Still they had gotten their come uppence five years ago with the two older Queens perishing in a boating “accident”, orchestrated by Waller herself.

Although she had never been given the clearance Felicity dug up what she could on the matter. It didn’t change the fact that she still had no choice but to do whatever Waller asked of her, Felicity liked having all the pieces of the puzzle. There was nothing she hated more than a mystery and Waller was the master of mysteries. It gave Felicity a great sense of victory to learn everything the ARGUS files had to offer and to know that no encryption could survive one of her hacks. The situation was a unique one where Waller knew that Felicity knew, however neither ever made reference to anything and they both pretended that Felicity was blindly doing Waller’s bidding none the wiser.

Felicity paused on a more recent photo of Oliver Queen and Thea Queen. The new haircut and facial hair had done wonders for his appearance. The whole dark secret murderous ex assassin look was very attractive on him.

“You are hot now that you’ve lost the serial killer mop on your head,” she mutters to the picture. “Too bad you’re a man slut who goes through women like underwear. Underwear,” Felicity let out a nervous laugh. “I wonder if you and your lady friends even wear underwear.”

“Tell me what a girl like you is doing in my office at this time of the night pondering my state of undress.” Oliver Queen’s voice is quiet, eerily quiet, causing Felicity to freeze. A crackle in her ear ler Felicity know that her feed to ARGUS had been cut. She was on her own now. Caught by Oliver Queen as she hovered around his desk stealing files. Why had she failed to warn herself about this? Oliver Queen was supposed to be out of town. She’d gathered that damn intel herself.

Felicity was sure she would have dropped dead out of fear right there and then had it not been for the mild hint of amusement she detected in his tone. Noting that there was nothing she could do now, Amanda Waller was not going to send anyone in after her should Oliver Queen decide to snap her neck, Felicity went for broke.

“Mr. Queen I was just updating your computers. And it’s a boring job. Especially at this time of the night. So I talk. To myself. I…umm…talk a lot. When I’m bored. Even to myself. But I love this job, well I don’t love this job but it pays the bills and a girl has to eat, so I am in no way complaining about my job, I am just trying to explain to you, albeit very badly that this task is extremely mundane and I’d much rather be home eating a pint of mint chip in fuzzy socks so I liven things up by talking……..to myself.” 

She glances at him and sees him watching her intently, trying to assess what she was all about and probably whether he was going to snap her neck and bury her body somewhere or not. Felicity didn’t dare try to shift her eyes towards the micro drive. Data for Waller was the least of her problems right now. Gawd so this was what it all amounted to. Three years of being Waller’s minion and now she was going to be killed and buried somewhere by Oliver Queen. Should have just agreed to jail instead. One mistake in her rebellious youth and she was going to die prematurely and alone. 

Hope blossoms in her when the corners of his mouth twitch upwards and a small smile breaks across his handsome face. She’s going to take that as a good sign.

“I’m not crazy,” she blurts out before she can stop herself. “Just bored.”

“So you keep saying,” Oliver grins at her and holds out a hand. Yay, Felicity thinks to herself. One generally doesn’t shake hands with someone they are about to kill. Not ARGUS’s agents anyway. Unless Oliver Queen likes playing with his food before he kills it. Felicity looks up at his face and sees that his smile is genuine. His eyes look…warm and for whatever reason Oliver Queen seems almost charmed by her.

“Oliver Queen but you knew that already since I heard all the comments you made about my extra curricular activities.” He smirked at her as he said this, causing Felicity to feel her cheeks burn up. Suddenly any elation Felicity feels about Oliver Queen not killing her is replaced by complete embarrassment and Felicity finds herself wishing that a hole would literally open and swallow her. There was something decidedly odd about standing there, feeling completely mortified about her comments when really she should be finding a way out and away from him as quickly as possible. 

“Mr. Queen,” Felicity smiles nervously again, as she backs away from him. “I don’t know you, I’m just a judgey, disgruntled little pleb who makes mean comments to pass time. Your computer has finished updating so I’m just going to leave your office now. I bid you good night. Sorry for the negative comments but remember an eaves dropper never hears flattering things about himself.” Felicity waves her finger disapprovingly at him. To her surprise he watches it and lets out a laugh. Quickly Felicity uses her other hand and pulls the tiny thumb drive from it’s slot making a show of gathering all the cables she brought along as props on the off chance that a janitor would find her. She turns, head held up high, about to make as dignified an exit as she could muster when his hand grips onto her shoulder and holds her still. Felicity freezes. Frak. What did he want now?

“Have a late night snack with me?” It’s not exactly a question but not a command either. More like a confident statement.

Felicity splutters and raises an eyebrow dramatically. Did he mean like a food snack or was the man propositioning her? Proposition or not the last thing she needed was to find herself engaging in a snack with him, food or otherwise (definitely not otherwise no matter how hot he was!).

“Mr. Queen whilst I may not enjoy certain aspects of my job I am very satisfied with the health and dental cover that it provides for me. You’ve heard with your own ears what I think of your dating track record so a snack is definitely a bad idea.” In the space of one hour she’d gone from stealing files to fending off offers of…whatever from Oliver Queen. Her life was officially even more messed up than she thought it was.

“Dessert then?” he grinned as he moved closer to her, looking positively predatory but in such a playful way she found it hard to keep her high alert stance which she knew she needed around him, after everything she’d read about him in ARGUS’s files.

Because she has no filter and can’t help herself, Felicity tilts her head and looks him straight in the face, “Mr. Queen are you enjoying a little joke at my expense or are you actually offering me ice cream? You know what, never mind. There will be no snacks, no dessert, nothing for you. And you have no grounds to fire me since talking smack about your employer to yourself is not a fire-able offence. Good night Mr. Queen.”

Felicity shakes his hand off her shoulder and flees out of the door but not before turning to call out to him “For what it’s worth you’re much nicer than I thought you would be.” 

She neglects to add “Thank you for not killing me” as she gulps big breaths of air in relief when she realizes he wasn’t following her and she had just managed to manoeuvre her way out of a potential life and death situation without back up. Back to the desk and screens for her. Felicity did not enjoy her little stint as a field agent. Espionage was not her strong suit and she was lucky Oliver Queen had been too preoccupied with her rants to be fully suspicious of her.

***

“Did I hear wrong because this is INSANE even for you.” Felicity stands with her arms crossed defensively over her body staring at Waller, unable to fully process what was being asked of her. Waller had no soul. Felicity knew this. Knew it when she made her deal with the devil and Waller continued to prove her right over the last three years. Everything was always a means to an end with that woman. Unfortunately right now Felicity was that means.

“You know me well enough by now Ms. Smoak to realize that I do not make jokes. Seduce Oliver Queen; find out what he and Malcolm Merlyn are working on. I don’t care what it takes. Get me names, dates, plans and I will set you free. We need never see each other again. You can start over wherever you like and never have to answer to me.” Waller had the gall to look like she was offering Felicity the opportunity of a lifetime. 

“I signed on to be your technical analyst, not for you to pimp me out to anyone you want.” Felicity still couldn’t believe they were having this discussion. One mistake in her misguided youth and this was the result.

“And I no longer need your skills as a technical analyst. Those files you retrieved held no useful information on them,” Waller responded dismissively. 

“They were specific files that YOU asked for. How is it my fault they don’t contain the information you want?” Waller was especially prone to volatile decisions right now because she was desperate. Months of zero progress on the case have obviously pushed her closer to the edge, making her consider more drastic actions.

“It’s not your fault and it doesn’t matter that it’s not your fault. You don’t get credit for things not being your fault. Unfortunately for you Ms. Smoak you managed to spark the interest of Oliver Queen and that is what I need right now. For you to bumble around in that manner during your mission and then waltz out of there without so much as a scratch, I’d say we’ve finally found Queen’s Achilles heel,” Waller taps her fingers looking pleased with the situation. 

“That was lucky. He was distracted. What would you have me do, seduce him and sneak around his home to rummage for his secrets? Oliver Queen does not do relationships. He has one-night stands. What makes you think I will be able to make him fall for me and give up his secrets? Don’t be ridiculous.” For the first time in a long time Felicity felt fear. A familiar dread crept inside her and memories of her teenage self being hauled off to jail flooded her mind.

“Well that’s up to you isn’t it?” Waller was immoveable. She didn’t care. Not that Felicity expected Waller to care but for her to force this wild goose chase so casually left Felicity floored and she’d never held a high opinion of Waller in the first place. 

“Dynasties have been brought down by a pretty face before. You are a well-read woman Ms. Smoak. You should know this. Use yours to find out what Oliver Queens plans are, who is involved and I’ll let you live the rest of your life without the shadow of your unfortunate mistake.”

“You are aware that you are gambling the lives of thousands of people based on theories derived from historical events which happened hundreds of years ago right? What if he kills me? Amanda he’s trained with Malcolm Merlyn and the League of Assassins. Even if I were able to attract and hold his attention for some span of time, at any given point he could snap me like a twig.”

What was she even doing, trying to reason and plead with Waller. For a brief moment Felicity contemplated flatly refusing but she knew Waller better than that. Best-case scenario she’d end up in a rough jail in general population for the rest of her days. Worse case scenario, she’d be terminated, never mind the tech skills she had to offer. Felicity had witnessed Waller sign off to terminate agents she believed were compromised. And yet there were the former members of the suicide squad, people who had committed heinous crimes whom Waller had set free because they completed the task she asked of them. There was no choice here. Her survival now depended on her wits and her ability to seduce Oliver Queen. The very thought of it made Felicity want to throw up.

“Good luck Ms. Smoak. I would suggest you brush up on your seduction skills although you seem to be doing just fine in your own way. We have everything set up for you. John Diggle will be your handler and he will brief you on everything you need. Don’t fail me. It’s important to both of us that you succeed.” The soulless ghoul gave Felicity another curt look before she marched out of the room, leaving Felicity gripping on the closest chair to her until her knuckles were white. 

***

“Until you’re told otherwise, this will be your home from now on,” John led her through the smart little townhouse that was to be her home indefinitely. Felicity was surprised at how nice the property was. Given Waller’s disdain for her Felicity half expected the woman to stick her in a slum somewhere, not this cozy, brightly furnished little home. A place she might have bought if she hadn’t fallen in with the wrong crowd.

“I was in charge of organizing your accommodation.” It never failed to amaze Felicity how John could read her like a book. She put so much effort into carrying herself in a certain way. Sure she had no filter and spoke her mind but beyond that no one really knew the real her, her thought process. John came close.

Felicity runs her fingers across the breakfast bar, stopping to examine the multiple mugs on display. Quirky fun looking mugs she may very well have collected herself if she wasn’t living this life that belonged to Waller. 

“You don’t have to do this you know,” John sits down and looks at her with that calm scrutinizing gaze of his.

“I have to John. You know Waller wasn’t really asking or giving me a choice.” Felicity casts her eyes around the townhouse, suddenly feeling quite lost. Tomorrow she would need to reel in Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen the multi billionaire mogul was someone she’d never approach by choice. But he was also an ex trained assassin who had many kills under his belt. This was the man Waller wants her to cozy up to and eventually betray. She’s as good as dead.

“You can run. Say the word Felicity and I will do everything I can to help you run.” John’s offer is in earnest and Felicity feels herself tear up. She knows he cares, truly cares about her. In the midst of the messed up life she had made for herself she did have one friend at least. Which was why she couldn’t involve him in her nightmare.

“She’d find me John. And if she suspected any involvement from you she’d make your life hell.” Felicity sits down on the sofa opposite to John’s. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Running from Waller, running from the law. I could probably survive but I don’t want to do that.” 

“You’re going to be looking over your shoulder for Oliver Queen,” John reminds her gently in a bid to get her to reconsider. 

“At least it won’t be indefinite,” Felicity tries to smile to reassure John that she’s going to be okay.

“Felicity you’re one of the strongest people I know. You won a full scholarship to MIT, graduated at 19, and survived Waller. If anyone can best Oliver Queen it will be you.” There was something in his voice, the faith she could see he had in her despite being concerned that made Felicity crack a small smile.

“You forgot to add wrote a super virus, got set up to take the fall by ex boyfriend, went to jail, and became lackey to Waller.” Listing her greatest hits out loud made her life look like an even bigger train wreck than she already thought it was.

“That’s all in the past Felicity. And you survived it. With battle scars but you survived it. You just need to survive this and one day I’ll be visiting you in the capacity of an old friend and not a handler.”

Johns gives her an encouraging smile, then his manner shifts as he pulls out the suitcase bag he had laid on the floor earlier. From the case he takes out a stack of documents, two guns, some gadgets and multiple piles of cash.

“Here are your papers, weapons and some cash in case things go south and you need a plan B.” He pushes the contents towards her.

“John, you really shouldn’t get involved. I can get myself all this stuff if there ever comes a day when I need it.” Felicity pushes the pile back towards her friend. 

“If that day ever comes I want you to be able to pick all this up and run. Not to have to organize it. Don’t worry about me Felicity. I’ve been in ARGUS for a long time, it didn’t cost me anything to get you these things. Let me help you with this insurance. Please. For my sake.” Felicity couldn’t believe John was pleading to her. John never pleaded; he made even-tempered suggestions and then observed for your reaction. John Diggle did not plead with anyone about anything.

“My chances of survival with Oliver Queen must be very low if you’re giving me a Flee kit.” Felicity had meant to tease him to lighten the mood but she could feel an edge of panic starting to set in. She wasn’t wrong in her comment. She, Felicity Smoak who had only had one failed relationship (and it was an epic fail because he wound up landing her in jail) was now tasked with seducing and maintaining Oliver Queen’s interest. There were very few ways this could end. Most of them badly. Still something about the way Oliver had looked at her that night gave Felicity the tiny glimmer of hope she needed to pursue this. 

“I’ve no doubt you can wrap him around your pinky if you choose to. When your feed cut out that night I thought I’d lost you. I was too far away to reach you in time. Then the feed came back and I witnessed the exchange between you and Oliver Queen and I knew you could handle yourself. You have a way with people Felicity. But I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m worried about how certain actions, having to do certain things will affect you. Getting him interested in you is not the momentous task here. It’s the other things that you’ll eventually have to do down the line. I want you to have a choice to run ok?” 

Felicity gulped and nodded understanding exactly what he meant but didn’t want to spell out to her. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!!!
> 
> Wow what a lovely response to Chapter 1! Thank you so much!!!!!! I appreciate every comment and kudo!
> 
> To show my gratitude for all your support here is Chapter 2! 
> 
> ***
> 
> Recently (urged by my husband) I have decided to take a more practical approach to writing which basically means I will sit down and right to a word limit every night until I complete a chapter. It's probably not recommended creatively but I feel like it works well to help solve my procrastination problems and also leads to faster updates for you guys. Logically I have a story plan, there is no reason why I can't sit down and hit so many words in one night.
> 
> Anyways, let me know (nicely if you can!) if you think the quality of my writing has suffered and I will revert back to the old style which results in slower updates but may be more sound in terms of quality!

Oliver pauses and hesitates as he nears the IT Department. This was a bad idea. Actually the other two times he’d gone down here were a bad idea too but he knew himself better than to give up. He needed to see Felicity Smoak again, if only to reassure himself that his interest in her the other night was in passing, that in the reality of daylight, Felicity Smoak was just an ordinary girl. Nice perhaps but nothing special like he had built up in his head.

He didn’t have the time or the emotional availability for this little fascination. Because of the life that he led, a girl like her was not someone he should be pursuing. The babbling, that wide eyed look. The innocent way she said exactly what was on her mind. Guys like him should leave someone like her well alone. He needed to see her one more time just to lay any stupid notions to rest.

He fidgets a little when he reaches her work area, thankful that it was empty being lunchtime. His breath catches a little when he sees her blond head bent down, engrossed in the tablet she was holding.

“Felicity,” he calls gently, but obviously not softly enough as she gives a startled jump before looking up.

“Frak you really shouldn’t sneak up on people like that…Mr. Queen.” Felicity stares at him, her big blue eyes wide behind her dark rimmed glasses. Oliver finds in surprising that her demeanor shifts from surprise to an uneasy nervousness that disheartens him a little. She didn’t even know him, why would she be scared of him. Even his playboy persona, as unappealing as it is, shouldn’t garner this reaction from her. The fear he thought he picked up from the other night was evident. He had brushed it off, reasoning that it was perfectly logical for a young woman working alone in a empty office building to feel jumpy and jittery at night but here she was gazing up at him like a baby animal that had just been cornered. Why did Felicity Smoak look like she feared him at times? 

“No Mr. Queen was my father. Call me Oliver,” he says calmly in a bid to put her at ease.

“Right but he’s dead,” she tries to smile at him before realizing what she is saying and moves to correct herself. “I mean he drowned. But you didn’t. Lucky for you, you weren’t on that boat. Which was why I ran into you the other night. And why you’re here to find me now. And listen to me babbled which will end in 3, 2, 1.” Felicity gives a little headshake and firmly clamps her bright pink lips shut.

She closes her eyes for a second, letting him marvel at how pretty her face is before opening them and addressing him. “What can I do for you Oliver? Is your computer working alright after the update the other night?” Felicity smiles at him earnestly as she asks this question, looking visibly more relaxed, like she had managed to calm herself down.

There is even a mischievous glint that enters her eyes as she continues. “Or are you here to offer me another meal? It’s too late for breakfast so are you here for lunch? Dinner?” 

Momentarily thrilled that he’s made enough of an impression for her to rib him about the other night, Oliver can’t resist teasing her back as he bends down, his face meeting hers as he whispers, “Why don’t we skip all those meals and head straight for dessert?”

“Mr. Queen,” she smiles playfully, doing her best to look scandalized, rolling her chair backwards away from him. “Didn’t I already make it perfectly clear that you’re not getting any dessert from me the other night.”

“Hey I meant something along the lines of pie and ice cream but if your mind went to other places that says more about you than it does me Felicity.” He almost rubs his hands with glee as an indignant look crosses her lovely face and she glares at him a little while pouting. So much for trying to prove that Felicity Smoak would be ordinary in the daylight. Felicity Smoak was anything but ordinary and in that split second Oliver knew his life would never quite be the same again. 

“Teasing aside, I have been trying to find you for a few days now to invite you out for a meal. You’re a hard woman to track down Felicity. Your HR file says you’re a full time employee but you haven’t been in for the past few days. Don’t you go to work every day?” There it was again, for some reason he just couldn’t resist teasing her.

“I took a few personal days off to move house,” she responds with a smile. “All settled now. So you’re that keen to go out for a meal with me huh?”

“Lunch today?” he asks hopefully. Forget one-night stands and being alone. He had a feeling this girl could make him happy and for once in the last five years he was going to focus on something else besides the mess his dad left behind for him. He was going to give himself a chance at happiness. 

“I suppose I can have lunch with you,” Felicity says looking thoughtful, her brows furrowing a little before she looks up at him. “Just so we’re clear by lunch you mean the actual consumption of food items for a mid day meal correct? Lunch is not a euphemism for something else?” 

“I did mean the consumption of food items Felicity but if you want to go with the euphemism I’d be happy to oblige too,” he smirks at her before offering her his hand.

She lets out an aggrieved huff but takes his hand and lets him pull her out of her chair. He waits as she collects her bag, secretly marvelling at how beautiful she really is. He had only noticed her cuteness and propensity to be adorable the other night as it overshadowed almost everything else about her but observing her right now Oliver could firmly attest that Felicity Smoak was a stunning girl. 

***

“To be honest I didn’t think you would say yes,” Oliver says after swallowing a mouthful of chicken kiev. He would have preferred to take Felicity somewhere nice, Table Salt perhaps as he had a table there that was kept empty strictly for him. Felicity had waved off the idea, citing that she only had a one hour break and if she was going to Table Salt she wanted to be dressed for the occasion not in her work clothing. So they ended up in a nice homely little diner around the corner of QC. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy and they had plenty of privacy in a little booth in the last row.

“Why would you think that? I did say you were much nicer than I expected just before I walked off the other night.” Felicity attempts what he thinks is a wink at him, only it comes out looking like a lopsided blink. A blink wink. She was adorable he notes to himself as he smiles at her from across the table. 

“You didn’t seem impressed by me from what I overheard and I was worried you’d turn me down due to office gossip and the like.” He still can’t quite believe that she agreed to have lunch with him so easily. Of course it was just lunch but she did seem like the type of girl who would worry about how a date with the boss could impact others perception of her.

“I graduated from MIT at 19 on a full scholarship. I chose QC because I enjoy the environment, even if I have to do a graveyard shift every so often. I can go anywhere else and get another job. It’s seldom that someone interesting comes along and asks me out.” She smiles at him confidently and takes a bite of her steak. Oliver feels a little taken back because this isn’t the response he’s expecting from her. 

“Should I be afraid you just used the word interesting to describe me?” he asks before adding, “Good interesting or bad interesting?”

“Just interesting,” she answers with a shrug of her shoulders. “I want to find out why a guy like you is interested in a girl like me. Let’s be honest with each other Oliver, I’m not really your type.” Noting the alarmed look on his face she reaches over across the table and gives his hand a pat. “For what it’s worth I am enjoying lunch very much. And I only know you as the man that I’ve read about in the gossip columns. I’m curious to find out for myself first hand what you’re really like.” A strange look crosses her face for a split second, like she was worried about something but it vanished so quickly Oliver thought he might have imagined it.

“So do you think there is a dinner in our future,” he asks her hopefully. “Would you believe that I’m not sure if it’s the correct etiquette to ask you out while we are still on our first date? I don’t date normally.” He leaves out the part where he hooks up with women for a night and never sees them again. No need for her to know anymore about his past tendencies than what she has already been subject to in the media.

“I don’t date either. I haven’t for a few years,” she admits and he sees that look on her face again. It’s not fear or worry this time but more wistful like she is pining after something she can’t have. What is she longing for? Love? Happiness? Oliver finds himself fixated on the idea that someone like Felicity Smoak may think she’s incapable of finding love because that was a story he had reserved for himself all these years. 

“I find that hard to believe. I would think they’re beating down the doors to ask you out.” He says it in a lighthearted tone but he means every word. Sitting across from him with her soft blue eyes and golden curls framing her face, she was stunning. Not to mention utterly charming and witty in her own quirky way. Felicity could have anyone she wanted, which begged the question of why a girl like her was alone. What was her story? 

“I do see a dinner in our future if that’s your way of asking me out.” Felicity suddenly changes the subject and forces a bright smile onto her face.

Oliver is tempted to push her for more answers about her comment but decides against it. They were technically still on their very first date and she seemed a bit skittish. He didn’t want to come on too strongly. If things worked out the way he hoped, he will have all the time in the world to discover anything he wanted about her.

“What about dessert?” he asks instead, going along with her attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

“Oh yes I know I great little café that serves the most wonderful ice cream and pie. We can stop there after dinner,” she beams at him innocently and just like that the light in her eyes and smile returns.

“I’m going to hold you to that promise Felicity.”

“Sure. I’ll even shout you dessert.” Felicity smiles, wink blinks at him again and pops another bite of steak in her mouth.

***

“Here you have the last piece of pie,” Oliver offers her generously as he pushes the last bite of chocolate cream pie towards her.

“All is fair in dessert and pie,” Felicity declares solemnly. “I’ll fight you for it.” She raises her fork at him looking somewhat combative.

“I’m not fighting my date for a piece of pie,” Oliver laughs at her. “Oh just eat it.” 

“Nono I insist that we duel for the last bite. I can see in your eyes that you want it just as much as I do.” Felicity bounces on her seat a little, fork poised ready to challenge him again. 

“Felicity how are we supposed to fight each other for a piece of pie,” Oliver laughs at her. 

“We have a fork duel,” she answers, her attention shifting back to the piece of pie longingly.

Oliver shakes his head and scoops up the piece of pie with his fork. Before Felicity has a chance to protest he brings the fork near her lips. “Open up,” he commands in a playful tone. Felicity obediently opens her mouth to let Oliver feed her the last piece of pie. 

“Dessert is the best,” Felicity sighs in contentment after she’s devoured the last mouthful. “We should skip dinner and go straight to dessert next time.”

***

Oliver Queen was nothing she expected him to be Felicity observed as he drove her to the place he believed was her home. Throughout dinner Felicity found herself finding it harder and harder to reconcile the gentle and (dare she say it) devoted man sitting across from her to the stone cold killer she’d read about in ARGUS’s files. She’d seen a glimpse of that cold man the first night she ran into him but now after spending many hours with him, Felicity was beginning to question whether her fear of getting caught had led her to automatically assume the worst about Oliver Queen.

_You’ve read the files and seen pictures of his kills. Waller may be a heartless witch but she is an efficient one who would not spend years trying to investigate a man who was a lovable puppy._ Felicity silently chastises herself in a bid to stay focused on the task. He was probably able to separate the two sides of himself. She was seeing the human side, the side that had a connection with and was fond of her. There was a killer lurking somewhere within him. Felicity shivers at the thought of what might be the magnitude of his anger when she ultimately betrays him. 

Betray him. That was a reality now, the fact that she was going to need to feign love and affection towards this man while sabotaging him behind his back. A few days ago she’d consoled herself that there was a high chance Waller was wrong with her gung ho observations. That Oliver Queen wouldn’t even look at her twice or laugh in her face and ultimately Waller would have to let her abort the mission on account that it was going nowhere. How wrong she was. 

Felicity’s body stiffens as Oliver steers the car with one hand, using the other to seek her out, engulfing her small cold hand with his large warm one.

“Your hand is freezing,” he says before lifting her hand up and blowing on it in an attempt to keep her warm. “Sorry I wouldn’t have asked you to go for that walk with me if I’d known you were so cold. You should have said something.”

Felicity found the genuine concern on his face unsettling. Why was he like this? Why did he care? Why was he suddenly so fixated on her? She tried to remember everything John and Lyla taught her about controlling her emotions in the field but over the course of their date there had been several times where Felicity felt she acted erratically, her behavior switching between cheerful and flirtatious to anxious and jittery.

Oliver noticed this; she could see it in his face, however it appeared to raise no suspicion with him. If anything her inconsistent behavior heightened his protective instincts even more. She was achieving everything Waller wanted her to, reeling Oliver Queen into her trap. Felicity found the thought more distressing than satisfying.

“It wasn’t your fault. I think it’s late and I’m tired so my body is feeling the chill more,’ she smiles; trying to assure him that she was fine.

 

Oliver pulls the car to the curb just outside her driveway, exits and opens the door for her. Felicity climbs out of the car, unsure of what to do next. Does she invite him in, or make a beeline for her door. Seduction was not her forte and suddenly Felicity found herself feeling very lost standing out there with the man she was supposed to make fall for her.

Before she could act, Oliver took of his jacket and draped it across her bare shoulders.

“Oh,” she says looking up at him. Why did he have to be so nice to her? The nicer he was the more it highlighted how incredibly awful this situation was. “You didn’t have to do that, I’m almost at my door.”

“You keep shivering and you look very cold,” he responds, looking worried. “Felicity are you feeling unwell?”

“No, no I’m fine,” she assures him, trying her hardest to smile and meet his gaze.

“I’m just feeling…overwhelmed. I had a lovely night. I’m just not used to this whole dating thing….” Her voice drifts off and she looks away. If he doesn’t think she’s a total basket case after this then there really is something wrong with him as per those ARGUS files. 

Oliver puts an arm around her shoulders and leads her to her front door. They stop right in front of her door and Felicity feels her body tensing, not sure of what to do or what to expect next. Does she avoid delaying the inevitable, suck it up and invite him in or does she balk and put an end to this right now, seeing as she’s obviously not cut out for this whole seductress routine. 

Oliver rubs her back gently and speaks before she has a chance to do or say anything. “Felicity I really want to kiss you goodnight but I’m not going to because I don’t think you’re ready. But I would like to see you again and kiss you one day.”

He leans down and kisses her on the forehead before turning to walk to his car. 

***

Who was Oliver Queen and why was he treating her like this. Did he suspect something? Her behaviour was so noticeably off at times, there was a distinct possibility he was playing her just as she was attempting to trick him. If Oliver was playing her what did he hope to achieve by being like this? Was he genuinely besotted with her and if so, why her of all people? 

The thoughts whirl around her head over and over again. Felicity never had a clear vision of how her seduction of Oliver was supposed to play out but she didn’t think it would be anything like this. That he would be so sincere, kind and gentle. Ironically his behaviour just made the situation more unbearable for her. She didn’t want to trick this man who seemed like he had real feelings for her. She was not an agent. She didn’t sign up for this job and she couldn’t just shut off her feelings. More than anything she didn’t want to be there to witness Oliver Queen’s dark side take centre stage when he finally discovers the truth about her after this fiasco plays out.

_John was right. John is always right_ , Felicity thinks to herself as she gathers the papers, cash and weapons John left with her, dumping them all into a backpack she had lying handy nearby. Felicity takes the backpack to her room and brings it into bed with her. She’s so tired and exhausted there was no point in trying to pack and run right now. It was still early days and Waller has no reason to suspect she would run. Felicity snuggles down into her bed, clutching onto the backpack protectively telling herself that she should take advantage of this weariness she felt and sleep first. When morning arrives she will wake up with the mental clarity to find a way to evade ARGUS. Oliver Queen, ARGUS, she was going to leave them all behind tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii
> 
> Mandatory writing time is working out well for me so you get another update! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

The first thing Felicity does when she wakes up is check her phone. Not her normal phone but her burner phone, the one Waller uses to summon her on. To her relief it was dormant. There were no missed calls, no messages.

Giving her back pack one last glance, Felicity went to shower, brush her teeth and change her clothes. She still had to run, she knew that but the sense of panic she felt last night was gone. She had decided on a path now and wasn’t wallowing in uncertainty anymore. There was still plenty to fear, she’d spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder but she knew what she needed to be fearful of which in this case was Waller. Running meant she would only incur Waller’s wrath. Oliver Queen whether he was as lethal as ARGUS made him out to be would not remember her. 

Felicity hears several loud knocks on her door as she steps out of the shower. It wouldn’t be an ARGUS agent since they’d likely just pick the lock and be waiting for her downstairs whenever she made her way down. It wouldn’t be John since he’d contact her first before showing up. Probably some well-meaning neighbour trying to introduce themselves. Felicity waits for a few seconds hoping the person or persons outside her townhouse would go away. No such luck. 

“Felicity,” Oliver’s voice drifts through her door. “Felicity,” he calls again, loudly this time, the tone of his voice suggesting that he would get louder still if she did not open the door soon.

Felicity throws a towel around herself and dashes to the door.

“Oliver what are you doing here at this time?” she asks him as soon as she opens the door.

“I was worried about you last night. Tried to call you when I got home and you didn’t pick up so I thought I’d drop by this morning. I brought breakfast.” He smiles and lifts up what looks like two coffees and a bag of pastries, his eyes linger on her for a moment as his smile grows wider.

“I’m good. I’m fine. I was so tired I crashed right away and just woke up to take a shower when you knocked….” Felicity pauses and glances down at herself realizing she’s wearing nothing but a towel. So that’s why he’s got that wide smile on his face. She gives Oliver a petulant glare. He makes a show of trying to suppress his smiles as he continues to shamelessly stare at her.

Felicity ignores him, determined not to rise to his bait and reaches out to pluck the coffee from his hand. She takes a sip of coffee, the liquid gold making her momentarily forget that she was supposed to be in the process of packing to run and Oliver was currently impeding that process. 

“I didn’t know how you take your coffee so I just got you a latte,” he tells her, looking more sincere now less triumphant about seeing her in a towel. “I bought a mixed bag of pastries as well. Danishes, bear claws, croissants. I wasn’t sure what you prefer but at the rate you downed all that pie yesterday I thought it was a safe bet to assume you’re a pastry kind of girl.” 

“I am SUCH a pastry girl,” Felicity gives a little hop as she makes a move towards the bag of pastry. The hop proves to be a little too buoyant for the barely secured towel that was hiding her modesty. Felicity felt a rush of cool air on her body by the time she had the pastry bag in her hands. The towel she had secured around her was now lying in a heap on the floor.

“Forget dessert, breakfast is the best meal of the day,” Oliver quips innocently, his eyes roaming the length of her body.

“I’m going to go and put some clothes on,” Felicity sighs in a resigned tone, deciding not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her react. She picks a bear claw out of the bag and walks over to the kitchen to get a plate, ignoring that fact that she was completely nude. So what if Oliver saw her naked. Either she was going to run today after he leaves her place or if for some reason she couldn’t run away, this would only aid further with her seduction plans. Judging by the way his jaw was slacken and how mesmerised his eyes were, Oliver clearly liked what he was seeing.

Plated pastry in hand, Felicity gives Oliver back the pastry bag to hold. He’s looking a little flustered now, much to Felicity’s amusement. Gone was the cocky, confident man who had tried to tease her. 

“Don’t eat all the pastries while I change. Save me one more,” she orders giving him a pat on the chest. His breath hitches and he lets out a gasp when she does this. She was clearly better at this seduction thing than she imagined. Felicity walks to her bedroom, making sure Oliver catches an eyeful of her rear end. 

***

As soon as Felicity closes her bedroom door she is confronted by the backpack she had haphazardly thrown together from the night before. She’d been so distracted by Oliver’s visit, she had temporarily abandoned her plans to run. There was always tomorrow she guessed. 

Felicity sat on the edge of her bed and munched on her bear claw, lost in thought. With an IQ of 170 she felt she was a reasonably intelligent woman. Yet she couldn’t work out Oliver. His persona, everything she’d read about him, the evidence of his continued association with Malcolm Merlyn. It didn’t add up with the caring man who dropped by to make sure she was okay. Heck it didn’t even reconcile with the playful flirt who liked to push her buttons. She’d only seen one glimpse of the man described by ARGUS on the first night they met and now she wasn’t sure what to think. Oliver Queen was turning out to be one of the biggest mysteries she’d ever faced and Felicity hated mysteries. She always felt an overwhelming urge to solve them. Was she really going to stick around just because she found him intriguing and he was nice to her? 

Maybe the simple explanation for this was that she had super special pheromones with magical seduction powers or that men really were as simple as Waller had deduced from her history books and hence Oliver was enamored with her. Felicity quickly dismissed these ridiculous theories.

Oliver Queen, whoever he was, was human and humans were complicated. She’d have to stay along for this ride if she wanted to unravel the mystery that was Oliver. The idea wasn’t as daunting as it seemed yesterday. If Oliver was a cold-blooded killer who was working with Merlyn on some destructive plan to harm people, she owed it to innocent civilians to try and stop him no matter how scared she was or what he might do to her once she betrayed him. Felicity knew deep down she could never live with herself if she ran away like a coward only to find out months later Oliver had planned or done something to hurt innocent people.

As much as Felicity rationalized what needed to be done if Oliver was as deadly as ARGUS made him out to be, the naïve part of her, the part Felicity thought had died long ago when Cooper betrayed her, wanted to believe Oliver couldn’t be that person. She wanted to believe that despite training with the League of Assassins and being an assassin himself in the past, this wasn’t him anymore and he had his own demons, his own reasons for being an assassin. _You’re not even dating the guy and you’re trying to make excuses for him already_ , she mocks herself, surprised that Oliver, with his extremely problematic back story would be the person to rekindle that flame of innocent trust inside her, one she thought had faded long ago.

“Felicity?” Oliver calls, interrupting her from her thoughts. “You okay in there?”

“Just enjoying my bear claw before I put clothes on,” Felicity calls out to him and to her surprise she finds that she has indeed eaten the entire bear claw whilst mulling over things.

She wipes her hands on a tissue and dresses herself, selecting a pair of skinny black jeans and a crop top with pink stripes. The outfit showed off her toned abs and body whilst still managing to be comfortable. If she was going to seduce him she really had to dress the part. 

“Thank you for the coffee and pastries,” she smiles at him when she returns to the living room again. “And for checking up on me. Do you want to sit down and have your coffee while we finish the rest of the pastries.”

“I’d like that,” he smiles at her, looking a little bashful when she grabs his hand and leads him to her breakfast bar. They sit down side-by-side and each pick at a pastry in silence whilst sneaking glances at each other. Even discounting the craziness that was Waller and ARGUS, the situation between them was ridiculous. They reverberated between making flirty confident comments to bait each other and freezing out of shyness. The most intriguing thing was that Oliver was just as bad as her, which really endeared him to her, the more time she spent witnessing his moments of awkwardness. 

“Do you want to go for a hike today?” Oliver finally blurts out after all pastries had been consumed and they were still making zero progress. “Since you only moved here a few months ago I thought you might want to go look at some of the prettiest spots in Starling. There’s a small but really nice hiking trail. We could go buy stuff and pack a picnic.” His voice grows more confident with each word and he’s smiling happily at her by the time he’s finished outlining his plans.

“Not what I expected from you but sure, why not,” she beams at him, internally marveling at how relaxed he seemed now that they’d finally found something to do together.

“Oh…do you not like hiking? We could go to lunch and a movie instead if you want?” Oliver quickly offers more options eager to spend time with her. He didn’t care what they did, just as long as he got to spend time with her.

“Believe it or not I actually enjoy hiking and glamping even if I don’t look it.” She was telling the truth. She might not look like the most sporty person around but she did enjoying spending time out in nature.

“Especially stars,” Felicity adds smiling at him dreamily. I enjoy looking at the stars. And the ocean. In Vegas everything is so big and man-made. I’ve always dreamed of going to live by the ocean one day.” 

“Noted, a house by the seaside for Felicity one day.” He gives her a warm smile as he leans over and tucks a stray damp curl behind her ear. 

***

“I had the best day today,” Felicity beams with a smile on her face that reminds him more of morning sunshine than the purple sunset that was behind them.

“I’m glad. I was worried after yesterday that maybe I came on too strong when you looked so nervous.” 

“You were concerned about coming on too strong so you showed up at my door again this morning?” Felicity chuckles at him. They were standing outside her door, dawdling, trying to delay the end of the evening. They had no plans for dinner, in fact dinner out in public was the last place Felicity wanted to be right now but she didn’t want to say good-bye to Oliver yet. 

“You know that feeling where you’re aware that you keep wanting to do things you shouldn’t be doing but you do them anyway in the hopes that maybe you’ll get the best outcome possible?” 

“That sounds like the definition of crazy,” Felicity bursts out laughing. 

“Well that was me this morning. And hey I was right to be optimistic. You asked me in and spent all day with me.” Oliver is unrepentant. In fact he looks very pleased with himself.

“I’m glad you followed your instincts and stopped by,” Felicity says softly. “Really really glad.” Suddenly their faces are just mere inches from each other and their noses are touching. Felicity closes her eyes as she feels his lips brush hers. His kisses are feather light at first, soft, tender, just like the way he treats her. Felicity wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer; returning his cautious kisses with reckless heated ones.

That is all the encouragement Oliver needs as he cups her face and parts her lips with his tongue finally allowing himself to kiss her the way he really wants to.

Miraculously Felicity manages to fumble with her keys, turning the lock. Oliver kicks the door open and they stumble towards her sofa. Felicity pushes Oliver onto the sofa and proceeds to climb on top of him, her hands moving to unbutton his shirt. Oliver finds his hands roaming up that little crop top that’s been driving him crazy all day. Her skin was so smooth, so soft, reminding him of the petal of a flower. Oliver felt like he was about to lose his mind at the idea of what might happen next and the fact that Felicity was going to let it happen. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to have dinner first?” Oliver pants as he forces himself to press pause on their kisses. His hands however are unable to let go of her as they continue to stoke her back under her top. 

“Haven’t you badgered me for dessert ever since we met?” Felicity grins wickedly at him.

“I have but dessert is worth waiting for. You’re worth waiting for.” Oliver couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth but he did mean them, and even if he was going have to take a very cold and very lonely shower later, he knew it was the right thing to do, and that he’d always want to do the right thing by Felicity.

“Well I want dessert before dinner so less noble intentions and more salacious ones,” she commands, gleefully pulling off his shirt, which she’d manage to unbutton.

“Anything for you Felicity,” Oliver responds obediently, sliding her top over her head and pulling her down for more kisses. God he could kiss her forever.

*** 

“You need to go,” Felicity mumbles, still feeling hazy with sleep. Save for a quick trip home by Oliver, to pack himself some clothes, they had not left Felicity’s house all weekend. They’d even ordered their groceries and take out online. 

“Are you kicking me out after using me all weekend,” Oliver asks with an exaggerated expression of hurt on his face. His heart however starts to race at the thought that maybe this was all she wanted for one weekend. She had told him before that she didn’t really date. 

“No! No I would never do that,” Felicity bolts up right away, touching his cheek with her hand. “I’m not…I’m not using you.”

“Relax Felicity I was only kidding.” He pulls her towards him and wraps his arms around her, nuzzling into her hair. Damn he doesn’t want to go back to the real world. He just wants to stay here in bed with her. “But I don’t want to go. Want to stay here forever.”

“That’s a big statement,” Felicity says. She turns her head a little and looks at him with a wistful expression on her face. “Nothing lasts forever right?”

“Hey what’s wrong? Why would you say that?” Oliver spins her around to get a good look at her. She had been so happy all weekend. They had been happy. Felicity’s companionship, her kisses, her wonderful babbling about anything and everything technology related had allowed him to seek solace from the realities of his life for a while. He knew he would have to go back eventually but he’d be damned if he was going to give up on this newfound happiness with Felicity. If anything in reaffirmed that everything he’d done, everything he’d been working towards was worth it. 

“I just…we’ve only known each other for a few days. I…I don’t think we should be throwing around words like forever.” She looks like she wants to say more but stops herself.

“Well I hope it lasts forever,” Oliver refuses to back down. He meant what he said. He’d never said those things to anyone and he wasn’t saying them to get her in bed as he was literally in her bed.

“I just think it’s better if you don’t set yourself up for things like that. It could lead to huge disappointments.” She turns her head away, suddenly refusing to meet his eye.

“ Well as long as you don’t leave I don’t think there is any risk of disappointment is there?” Oliver gently tilts her head back forcing her to meet his gaze. 

“Oliver, we’ve known each other a few days. I like you…I REALLY like you but…” Felicity’s voice drifts off as she avoids explaining herself any further. Oliver successfully fights his urge to interrogate her some more. As long as she wasn’t refusing him, there was no need to argue semantics. 

“So back to earlier, before we got side tracked. Are you really kicking me out?”

“You need to go to work. You are the boss! And I need to go to work since clearly I’ve already been a terrible employee by sleeping with the boss. The least I can do is show up at work myself and make sure you show up to work.”

Felicity smiles clearly relieved that he’s not pushing her again. _Go slow_ Oliver reminds himself for the umpteenth time. He suspects because he’s spent most of his life running from women and romantic attachments, he’s extra clumsy and inept now that he’s finally found someone he wants in every way. 

“When will I see you again?” Oliver all but whines at her. She pulls him into her arms and lets him cuddle in the crook of her neck.

“Whenever you want. You just need to make it out of my bed, back to your home and into work first.”

“Promise?” He asks her as he snuggles down comfortably. 

“Promise,” Felicity kisses him. 

***

“What are you doing here?” Oliver snaps as he exits the car. Lurking just outside Queen Manor was Merlyn with a scowl on his face.

“Don’t take that tone with me after you’ve disappeared for an entire weekend and refused to take any of my calls. Who were you with? Some new conquest I suppose? All weekend though Oliver. That’s new for you. They don’t usually last that long.”

“What the hell do you want?” Oliver asks coldly. He could feel the anger flaring up inside him just from Merlyn referring to Felicity as a conquest. Still it was better this way. She would be safe as long as she remained a nameless entity where Merlyn was concerned.

“I need you to do some cleaning up for me. It’s what you’re good at isn’t it?” Merlyn throws him an envelope that Oliver catches without even looking up. “These are six scientists who worked on the Markov Device. They’ve achieved what we wanted, now I need them silenced.”

Oliver knows better than to argue or show any form of protest or mercy. “You sure the machine is fully functional? I don’t want to hear that we’ve run into technical issues once I eliminate the only people who know how to build it.”

“Oh it works, don’t you worry your handsome head about it. Just do your job and don’t leave behind any mess,” Merlyn says dismissively. Oliver finds himself wondering about the dynamics between Merlyn and his parents. Somehow Oliver couldn’t see Merlyn lording it over them. Still Robert Queen had had too much pride and played his hand too early ultimately getting himself and Moira Queen killed. 

“I never leave behind a mess,” Oliver responds coldly.

Oliver had learned a lot in his time dealing with Merlyn. Patience being the biggest lesson of them all. The lives of thousands of people depended on his ability to keep cool and push aside his ego. It was difficult but it didn’t matter how much he had to bow down to Merlyn. It was worth it to save all those innocent lives. Once this was over he too would be free of these shackles to pursue his life. 

“That I will give you credit for. You kills are always so clean. Never flamboyant but clean.” 

*** 

Oliver flicks through the pictures of the six young scientists one by one. How the hell was he going to deal with them? Saving the six of them could potentially endanger thousands of lives and yet he wasn’t that person any more. Yes he was still a killer. Once a killer always a killer but there was no way he was casually going to take six innocent lives. 

Oliver get into his car and slams the door shut. Time to visit the other half of Team Arrow, as his partner likes to call them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe who is his partner I can hear you all asking?
> 
> Heeeeee
> 
> Who do you think it is??????


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooo
> 
> I bring with me an update!
> 
> Hopefully I will see you soon with another one!

“Dr. Palmer will see you right now Mr. Queen,” Palmer’s assistant Gerry waves Oliver cheerfully into Palmer’s office. As he marches into Palmer’s office Oliver found himself wondering for the hundredth time how Palmer managed to recruit an alarming number of extremely perky employees very much like himself. Did Palmer with his mad scientist ways have a machine in the basement somewhere that allowed him to generate one upbeat minion after another? It was something Oliver found absolutely fascinating.

Oliver pushes through the door containing the Palmer Technologies logo and shudders at the mental image of Ray twirling his finger around with that cheesy grin on his face at their joint press conferences. Merlyn may be planning to level the Glades but sometimes Oliver felt there was nothing scarier than another joint interview with Palmer twirling his finger while standing next to him.

“We have a problem and I need you to help me fix it,” Oliver cuts right to the chase as soon as Palmer is within earshot.

“Hi Ray! How was your weekend Ray? How has your day been today? Something has come up that we need to tackle together as a team.” Palmer snarks back at him in a rare show of spirit.

“I was planning to ask you how your weekend was after we solve this problem first.” Oliver shows no visible reaction, however he notes that Palmer seems more assertive today and briefly speculated for a second what self help research paper, book or course Palmer had recently undertaken to bring on the attitude.

Three years after his return from the League, he’d been determined to do it all on his own. Then Palmer blew into town with Palmer Technologies, a formidable rival for Queens Consolidated, which was floundering due to his three-year disappearance. They’d gone head to head in the business arena and he was somewhat impressed by Palmer’s unrelenting cheesiness and positivity which Oliver later realized was the driving force and heart behind Palmer Technologies. 

Palmer’s genius and his tragic back-story combined with Merlyn’s hatred for him was what ultimately saw Oliver decide to bring Palmer into the fold. Their companies undertaking several joint projects also provided excellent cover as to why the two CEOs of Palmer Tech and QC worked so closely together. He was able to meet Palmer both covertly and out in public without raising suspicion. He could still recall the wave of doubt he felt, questioning whether he had made the right decision when Palmer cheerfully high fived him and asked Oliver if he, Palmer could name their team. His fears turned out to be unfounded as Palmer proved to be a trustworthy ally who could hold his own, even if he tore Oliver’s patience to shreds at times.

“I would ask you how your weekend was but I pinged your phone and it looks like save for a hiking trip on the Starling Trails you were at the place of a Miss Felicity Smoak all weekend. Twenty three, took up a position as a programmer at Queens Consolidated, graduated from MIT with honours.”

“You pinged my phone? How many times have I told you NOT to do that? What is wrong with you Palmer?” Oliver interrupts Palmer’s rant and glares at him in disbelief. Palmer had some quirks. This was one of them. The complete lack of boundaries being one of his worst qualities. 

“Well I wanted to ring you about some Team Arrow business but it wasn’t urgent so I just wanted to see if you were in the middle of anything important like visiting your ninja friends in the mountains and then I found you were at this girl’s place so I thought _Ok, Oliver’s up to his usual stuff, I’ll wait until he leaves the lady’s company_ and then you were on a hike in Starling which I couldn’t explain and then you never left the lady’s place so I couldn’t help myself and did a little digging.” Palmer looked slightly remorseful but only slightly. The other 95% of him looked like he was bursting with curiosity and dying to ask Oliver more questions.

Oliver closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, something he finds himself doing a lot in the company of Palmer. He couldn’t let Palmer get sidetracked. Not when they had a big crisis on their hands that involved six lives at stake. 

“Let’s forget the fact that you tried to stalk me again for one moment and focus Ray. We have a big problem. Merlyn showed up at my door this morning wanting me to terminate the six scientists who have completed the Markov device. Obviously I can’t do that. We need to find a way to make them disappear without harming them.” 

“You know about the Markov device, where it’s stored. Merlyn doesn’t have the book, which your father left to you when he died, your sister is safe and out of the picture thanks to your sacrifice, so why can’t we bring this guy down already? Why are you still pretending to do his bidding?” They’d had this conversation so many times and Oliver could understand Ray’s frustration, especially given that they were now managing Merlyn’s bidding together based on a hunch Oliver had.

“You know why Ray,” Oliver sighs. “Levelling the Glades is Merlyn’s life’s work after he lost Tommy and Rebecca. He spent a decade devoting himself to planning this. He murdered my parents and was willing to sacrifice my sister, his only remaining child. He’s not a stupid man. He has to suspect that I know he killed my parents, which is why he will never fully trust me or reveal his entire hand. I am sure there is more to his plan than the Markov device. It’s too simplistic for Merlyn to just have one plan that another person knows about.”

“But other than your gut feeling we have found no evidence of any other plans Merlyn might have. I think it’s time to move forward Oliver. How long are we going to run around covering our tracks like this task he left you with the scientists? We’re going to blow our cover one day and then all the work we’ve put in over the last two years will be for naught.” Ray had a very good point and on some level Oliver agreed with him. He just needed more time.

“Have you retrieved the data from the laptop?” Oliver asks, momentarily ignoring their problem with the scientists.

“Nope,” Ray responds shaking his head.

“I thought you were a genius,” Oliver snaps, his frustration getting the better of him. Just when he thought there was a breakthrough it felt like they were heading backwards.

“I build things Oliver. Computers are not my forte. If it were that simple my suit would be working perfectly by now. You know how many bullet holes are in that thing? To someone like you, us tech people are all the same but really, we’re not. We each specialize in different things and this is going to take me some time since I’m trying to teach myself how to do it step by step.” Ray looks hurt at Oliver’s comment but delivers his response in a soothing, genial tone. As much as Ray could frustrate Oliver there were times when he truly appreciated the other man’s good temper.

“We need to deal with the six scientists. How fast can you forge false documentation for new identities?”

“That I can do,” Ray beams at him, looking positively pleased there was a task he could get completed to stop Oliver spiraling further into one of his moods. “I streamlined the process for forging documents after you and I have needed it one too many times. How are we going to relocate six people and keep them quiet though?”

Ray pauses for a second and then perks up. “I know! You dress up in full Arrow gear, round them up, put the fear of God in them and knock them unconscious. I’ll fly down in the ATOM suit, save them, give them their papers and tell them to come with me and if they want to live and never look back.” 

“I guess we don’t have many options at this point. Need the data on that laptop Ray. Time is running out. We might have some time but if one of the six get sloppy this will all fall apart.” It was an insane plan, one that sounded like it was conceived by two cartoon characters but Oliver couldn’t deny that their hands were somewhat tied at this point. The odds were always stacked against you when you tried to play hero. They were at a disadvantage to Merlyn who could leave a trail of bodies in his wake and not bat an eyelid.

“Looks like we’re finally going to do the Good Cop Bad Cop thing. Or we could call it Positive A and Negative A! You know cuz you’re the moody Arrow and I’m the happy ATOM.” Ray beams at him jubilantly looking far too enthused for someone who had to relocate and save six people. Oliver casts him a withering glance. He was not even going to even dignify that comment with a response.

Ray, unperturbed by Oliver’s silence, soldiers on, “Looks like you’ll have to put your wooing of Felicity Smoak on hold. Speaking of romance, is this serious? Cuz you’ve never stayed with a woman for more than a few hours? How did you meet? Was it love at first sight? You know I think this is a step in the right direction for you. You need to find something in life besides the mission. The mission is important but you always look like you could use a dash of true love in your life.” 

Ray clasps his hands together and has the audacity to look dreamy, “Everyone needs true love and judging by the way you vanished this weekend with this girl I’m going to bet that the Arrow has finally been shot with Cupid’s Arrow.”

Oliver, unable to find any other appropriate response, scowls at Ray. “Just get the papers done quickly and contact me.” He starts heading out of Ray’s office but not before turning to give the other man a death glare, “And stop pinging my phone! It’s creepy Ray. I swear I’ll put an arrow through you if you do it again.”

***

Felicity shuts down the feed from her tracker and leans back on her sofa, closing her eyes. A feeling of immense relief washes over her, a feeling so strong it renders her temporarily motionless. Oliver was not working with Malcolm Merlyn. He did not want to or have plans to commit mass homicide. He was trying to stop death and destruction, not be the cause of it. And he was working with billionaire Ray Palmer.

Now that was a twist Felicity had not expected when she’d carefully placed that minuscule bug in Oliver’s phone during their weekend together. Ray Palmer, quirky billionaire with a heart of gold and a tragic past was a vigilante who was secretly partnering up with an ex assassin. To their credit the partnership did make sense, although she would file it on the list of things she did not expect much like her entanglement with Oliver. 

 _At least he isn’t evil_ she consoles herself with a wry smile as she remembers what happened between them this weekend. It could have been so much worse if he was a cold-blooded killer. Felicity knew she was lying to herself. Had Oliver been a cold-blooded killer the lines would have been very clearly drawn. The physical relationship would have been a means to an end and she knew eventually she’d be able to shut it all out and move on, assuming she made it out alive. 

Because she had chosen to give into the moment and dive headfirst into whatever it was between her and Oliver, things right now were…messy. Lies, deception, the entire foundation of their…whatever was based on a web of lies. That was not taking into consideration the ticking time bomb that was Waller. Felicity closes her eyes and pulls her knees into her chest. She should have made smarter decisions and befriended him instead of taking the plunge and treating this like a blind date Waller had set up for her. The fallout, whenever it takes place was going to burn her.

**_Want you to know I would see you every day this week if it were up to me. Issues have come up on a project with Palmer Tech that I need to handle. Will make it up to you._ **

Felicity’s phone beeps, jolting her out of her increasingly depressing headspace. Despite her inner turmoil Felicity can’t help but smile at Oliver’s text. For all his skills in combat it appeared that Oliver had not quite mastered the art of texting. The end of his message to her was littered with emojis ranging from hearts in various colours, a collection of happy smilies, bunches of flowers, drinks and bowls of food. Felicity feels her smile widen as she reads the text once more. There was no doubt as to what business it was he was handling in regards to Palmer Tech, however he was out there trying to save lives and still managed to make her smile. There was something so endearing about Oliver that drew her to him. Felicity knew she ought to be smarter, navigate this in such a way so as to minimize the fallout for both their sakes but a part of her was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. And it wasn’t because he was incredibly handsome with rock hard abs that went on for days. There was an innocent boyish air to him despite everything he’d gone through, the quiet hope he had in finding happiness with her. Felicity was finding it increasingly hard to walk away from him.

***

“How did you find all this out?” John asks as he sips on his beer, his long legs resting on the little footstool that was part of the furnishings, which came with the townhouse. He was processing everything Felicity told him about Oliver Queen, Oliver’s partnership with Palmer and Merlyn’s plan to level the Glades. “You’ve barely been undercover for a week and you know all this.” John’s pride was mixed with a dash of worry as the thought crossed his mind of what she had, had to do to gather so much information.

“I bugged his phone. Micro bug in one of the panels. He shouldn’t be able to find it,” Felicity assures him. 

“I’m going to ask this because I won’t stop worrying if I don’t but how did you get to his phone to place the bug. Us trained fighters; we don’t usually let our guard down. What did you do Felicity?” 

“He was asleep,” Felicity says quickly, averting her eyes, unable to meet John’s. “I was in close proximity to his phone and he was asleep.”

“I know it’s part and parcel of why Waller sent you to him but are you alright Felicity? I feel like you’re getting into something without really understanding what you’re getting into. You could have run you know. I would do anything to keep you safe.” John looks positively distressed by now.

“There is a madman planning to murder an entire section of a city John. We both know I couldn’t run.” Felicity fiddles with her glass of wine before giving John a rueful smile, “I was going to run you know. I had a backpack with all the stuff you gave me. And then he showed up at my door with pastries. He’s not what anyone expects. He’s sweet and gentle. He’s a good person. Besides other agents have been sent on missions like this before and have come out of it fine. No reason why I shouldn’t be.” Felicity takes a sip of wine and avoids eye contact again. 

“We both know you’re not other agents Felicity. You didn’t sign up for this life, Waller forced you into it. You and Oliver Queen. You know that is not going to happen right? Even when this is all wrapped up and Waller sets you free, you know you’re not going to drive into the sunset together right? He trained and worked for three years with the League. You’ve been sent to monitor him. Don’t get me started on Waller. I need you to know there is not a happily ever after for you and Oliver Queen.” John was done with being worried and fixes her with a stern look as if he thought she was under some delusion he wanted to shake her out of. 

“I’m trying to make the best of the situation John.” Felicity didn’t know whether she was trying to convince herself or him. “Waller was right in her predictions about how Oliver would feel about me.”

Felicity puts down her glass of wine and changes the subject. “Enough about my inexperience as an undercover agent. We need to do something about that laptop. It could very well contain crucial information and they are obviously making no progress with it. Plus they have other things on their plates right now.”

“What are you proposing?” John asks, acquiescing to her change of topic. He had said all he could and short of nagging her repeatedly like an overzealous helicopter parent there was not much else for him to do. He couldn’t control her thoughts or feelings; neither was he going to try.

“I need to get my hands on that laptop and retrieve the data on it.” 

“I’ll send in a team to get it for you.”

“No!” Felicity raises a hand to stop him, sounding alarmed. “I’m not sure where it’s being kept even though I suspect it’s being kept at their base of operations. I need more time to track Oliver and find out where their base of operations is. Then I’ll go in myself. I can hack through anything John.” 

“Felicity….” John’s brow creases again and Felicity wonders if being her handler on this mission will be the death of him. A warm and fuzzy feeling graces her as she realizes that as lonely as she thought was, John loved her like he would his own little sister. 

“You cannot send another ARGUS agent, with no knowledge of the situation and parties involved to break into the lair of two vigilantes. Especially if they are not sure of what they are looking for in the first place.” Felicity moves off her couch and plonks herself beside John smiling at him. “You’ve put in all this effort to train me. Let me use my skills. Besides it’s not even a confrontation. Just a bit of larceny. I’ll hop in and out. No one will know.”

“Once you work out where that laptop is stored you will let me know the exact night you plan to steal it. Do we have an understanding?” John sounds disgruntled but at least he wasn’t going to go all Papa Bear on her again.

Felicity perks up and flashes him her most winning smile. “I also need you to keep everything I told you tonight from Waller.” 

Seeing his eyebrows raise, Felicity grabs his arm and tugs on it. “Please John. I feel like we don’t have enough irrefutable evidence to present her with yet. You know Waller has a tendency to write her own truths. She will take whatever facts she deems convenient and ignore the rest. There is no telling what she would do. She may well storm in with guns literally blazing and if Oliver is right about Merlyn having a backup plan thousands will die.” 

“I agree with you about Waller but please remember she will start demanding results at some point Felicity,” John cautions her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe so none of you guessed it would be Ray!
> 
> I hope you liked it anyway! I know I'm a huge fan of Ray and he does appear a lot in my stories but in this instance I felt like it made sense that it was him working with Oliver. And I couldn't resist a bit of grumpy Oliver and Clueless Inappropriate Ray! 
> 
> Rest assured my lovelies there will be NO LOVE TRIANGLE!!!!! NONE!!! 
> 
> hehe plus Ray is firmly Oliver's friend in this story and may not get along with Felicity as well as he does in all my other stories! I felt like a change this time!
> 
> Let's hope you guys will think it all makes sense too when we move further along in this story!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!
> 
> This update is a bit later than I personally wanted but it's currently school holidays here so I've been running around aquariums and play grounds all fortnight!
> 
> I hope you like this chapter! hehe I like this chapter a lot! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Err my science is not very sound so I apologise in advance for all the dubious sciency bullsh@t things I write in this chapter =P

Felicity felt mildly disappointed the laptop wasn’t kept under the Verdant building, a business Oliver invested in and hired various people to run as a cover for his base of operations with Ray. It would have been more challenging and risky to break into his secret bunker but there was a part of her, which craved further knowledge about Oliver and his vigilante activities.

The six scientists had vanished without a trace to anyone who didn’t possess her hacking abilities. More impressively Oliver and Ray had managed to construct enough evidence of their demise, something Felicity presumed was for Merlyn’s benefit. That act alone made Felicity’s loyalty, what little of it there was to Waller crumble even further. Waller claimed to do things for the greater good, and for the most part Felicity believed she tried, however her approached left little to be desired as she would often sacrifice innocent lives along the way. Felicity’s monitoring of Oliver so far suggested that he went through great pains to avoid hurting innocent people. 

Felicity killed the cameras and with a few taps on her tablet disabled the locks on Ray Palmer’s laboratory. He must be keeping the laptop here to work on it. According to her calculations Felicity had ample time tonight as the CEO of Palmer Tech was out on a date (a blind date no less). Even working on the assumption that his date would go bust, Felicity knew she would have sufficient time to find the laptop and retrieve the data on it. She had thought it through and decided that the most unobtrusive way to get the information she wanted was to sneak into Ray Palmer’s office, retrieve the data and leave the laptop behind. She didn’t want to raise their level of suspicion or cause panic if she were to remove the laptop. Losing a key piece of evidence would send Oliver and Ray into high alert, which in turn could derail Felicity’s own plans. At the very worst they might even assume Merlyn was catching on and that he was behind the missing laptop. No, she needed everyone to be none the wiser so that they all continued on with their activities as usual.

After a brief hack into Ray’s phone, Felicity had been careful not to leave any ongoing trackers. Oliver’s skills lay in combat, which made him a much easier and unsuspecting target to hack. She might not be able to tail him physically but electronically it was unlikely that he’d wise up to the fact he was being bugged. 

Ray on the other hand was a genius, albeit in a slightly different way. He was much more advanced compared to Oliver when it came to technology and although Felicity knew she could out hack him, she didn’t want to tempt fate lest he discover someone was spying on Team Arrow as he liked to call himself and Oliver.

It didn’t take Felicity long to find the bullet ridden laptop. Ray Palmer either believed that his laboratory was impenetrable or he was simply untidy. Moving quietly and dimming the lights, Felicity set to work, plugging in her tablet.

It took her all of thirty-eight minutes to extract the information that Ray Palmer had allegedly spent weeks trying to obtain. Felicity sighed to herself. If she hadn’t made that mistake years ago, if Waller did not exist in her world she could be working at a place like Queens Consolidated or Palmer Tech. She’d be earning a nice salary and living the normal working life most twenty three year olds lived. Maybe she would lead their Applied Sciences division. Maybe a few years after that she would branch out on her own and start a consulting firm. Felicity tried not to dwell on the past but it was hard not to think about what could have been had she not made the fatal error of writing that code and allowing Cooper access to it. Instead of being a value employee somewhere she was sitting here in semi darkness stealing information off a laptop that was in the possession of two billionaire vigilantes.

 _The wandering mind is a dangerous thing_ Felicity tells herself as she unplugs her tablet. It really was time to bury all those hopes and dreams. This was her reality now and there was nothing she could do to escape it but put one foot forward each day. As she tucks the tablet safely into her backpack, Felicity ponders how long Ray would take to follow the breadcrumbs she had left for him. He had just gone about the bullet ridden laptop the wrong way by viewing it as a hardware problem and presumably trying to fix the hardware so he could extract the data rather than use the software solution. Knowing that both Oliver and Ray were risking their own lives for the lives of others, Felicity had no qualms assisting them in retrieving the information they needed. Ray would magically find it much easier the next time he looked into that laptop again.

Her victory was short lived when Felicity heard the sound of footsteps just outside the laboratory.

“Hey Oliver, just me calling to tell you my blind date was an unmitigated disaster so I’m back in my lab where you probably want me to be working on extracting the data from that laptop. You ever been on a blind date? I guess not with your reputation as a man about town. How did you meet that nice Felicity Smoak anyway? I assume it wasn’t through a blind date? Not that I’m being competitive here, and I want you to be happy, goodness knows I think it’s good for your soul after everything that I suspect you’ve been through but don’t you find it odd that out of the two of us you might be the one headed towards a more viable relationship? This is what, my fifth blind date in the last three months and it’s one disaster after another. Her ex boyfriend showed up today and they had this tense conversation about fate and lost love. Then they both burst into tears. I took it as my cue to pay the bill and leave. Anyhow I don’t expect you to respond to any of this and the next time we see each other you’ll act like you didn’t listen to this message at all, give me a semi annoyed look and tell me we have yet another problem to deal with but I personally take delight in getting to know you via these messages that I leave you. Do you listen to these messages Oliver? Because it would be an encouraging sign for our friendship if every once in a while you acknowledged these messages and my attempts to bond with you.”

 _Frack_ , Felicity curses to herself as Ray lets out a sigh and ends the call. She had not expected him to be back this soon and she was loathed to shoot the guy even with a tranquilizer. The plan had been to get in and out undetected. Felicity quickly jammed the ski mask onto her face and considered her options. Ray Palmer’s lab was on the 30th floor of Palmer Tech’s very swanky building with nothing but masses of glass windows. Heck even if there were balconies it was not within her skillset to jump from balcony to balcony. Her only option was to use her tranquilizer gun and the element of surprise to her advantage.

Padding softly towards the door Felicity waits silently behind some cabinets while Ray punches in his code and turns on the lights. He lets out a yell of surprise as Felicity zooms past him and was about to give chase when Felicity shoots him in the leg with her tranq gun.

Felicity sprinted towards the lifts, opening them on command with her tablet when she suddenly felt a sharp shooting pain on her shoulder just before she managed to throw herself into the lift. As the lift doors close on her command she could see an almost passed out Ray on the ground with some sort of gun in his hand. He had shot her. With what she did not know. It wasn’t a bullet but the odd tingling pain in her shoulder indicated that this could be worse than a bullet. She had clearly underestimated Oliver’s cheerful sidekick and now she was going to pay for it. 

***

Felicity examines her shoulder. Definitely not a bullet wound. There was one tiny puncture hole and her shoulder was slowly taking on a brownish purplely hue. She didn’t think it was poison. It looked too localized to be poison. A hospital was out of the question. Not that they could detect what she’d been shot with anyway. Ray Palmer had obviously come up with a weapon of his own design. She could almost slap herself for being so stupid. Why did she assume that the other half of Team Arrow would go down without a fight? He was every bit as much of a vigilante as Oliver.

Rubbing her eyes and wincing at the strange tingly feeling Felicity proceeded to call John. He was going to read her the riot act but she needed his help accessing certain ARGUS facilities right now to figure out what the hell Palmer had shot her with.

***

“Thank you for not losing your mind John,” Felicity attempts a cautious smile at John who was standing across from her with a half worried, half disapproving look on his face. He’d taken a brief glance at her shoulder and right now his sympathy for her was staving off any lectures about carelessness he wanted to give.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to bring you to the medical team?” John asks her yet again.

“No I don’t want to risk word getting back to Waller.” Felicity loads the slide of her blood, which she had extracted into the microscope and bends down to look at it. “If it is what I think it is, the medical team will not be able to help. Why risk an interrogation from Waller for nothing.”

“What did he shoot you with Felicity?” John asks, trying to sound as gentle and patient as he can despite his worry.

“Nanomites,” Felicity answers, fiddling with the microscope some more. “The trouble is I don’t know what they are designed to do and how many.”

“Nanomites?” John gives her a questioning look.

“Basically teeny tiny microscopic particles that he, Ray Palmer, can control.”

“Felicity this is not making me feel any better,” John warns her. “What can I do for you?”

“The good news is he may have invented these nanomites but programming is not his forte so in terms of commanding them I can probably override him.” Felicity removes her slide and tries to clean down the table where she conducted her tests. John gently motions her towards a chair and takes over, cleaning up the samples and syringes.

“Probably? What happens if you can’t?”

“Have a little faith in a girl John,” Felicity attempts to be light hearted but John remains unimpressed. She sits up a bit straighter and gives him a serious look. “If I can’t override his programming and make them dormant, I can always just get rid of them the less elegant way.” 

“And this would be?”

“I find something that will fry them, turning them into useless particles which will flush out of my body eventually.” Felicity made a wincing face that had John on alert again. “The only downside to this is that if there is a huge swarm of them, which I suspect there may be, any attempt to fry them will also shock me a bit.”

“What do you mean shock you?” John bristled at the very idea of this.

“Oh you know, they are essentially minute robots so if I have to take out millions of them, it’ll be a bit unpleasant. Nothing that can kill me I’m sure. Maybe just knock me out for a bit.” She omitted to tell John of all the other things that could come from this “shock” she was to receive. There was not much he could do, no need to worry the man any further. 

“Felicity…” John looked like he had a great deal he wanted to say but didn’t know where to start.

“I will be fine John! I promise! All things considered this wasn’t as bad as I thought. Thank you for helping me conduct my own diagnosis. I’m not trying to shake you off I swear. I just really need to get back and disable these things before Palmer wakes up and commands them to do something to me.” 

“Felicity Smoak when I come back from my assignment next week you better be alive with all your limbs in tact or else I will give you more to fear than Waller or Oliver Queen ever did,” John threatens her. 

***

“Ray! Wake up!!! Ray! Come on Ray I know you can snap out of it,” Oliver slaps his friend’s face a few times. Not hard but just enough to sting a bit to jolt him awake.

Ray stirs a little and then suddenly bolts upright when he feels something cold and wet on his face. He opens his eyes to find Oliver peering at him with an impatient look on his face holding what looked suspiciously like a spray bottle.

“Did you…did you just spray my face with water?” Ray asks in disbelief with a dash of hurt thrown in for good measure. 

“Most effective way to wake someone up besides a bucket of water. You were lucky it wasn’t a bucket of water.” Oliver puts down the spray bottle and folds his arms across his chest. “Care to explain what happened?”

Ray is fully awake by now and feeling indignant at Oliver’s apparent lack of concern. “I get shot with a tranquilizer and all you can do is spray me with water and demand answers? I thought we were partners. Friends care about friends.” 

Oliver rolls his eyes before finally settling on gazing at the ceiling to prevent himself from giving Ray anymore impatient unsympathetic looks. “Friends have each other’s backs. Which is why I rang you after I got your voicemail.”

Ray perks up at this. So Oliver did listen to his voicemails and he did care. “Is that how you found me?”

“Yes I called to ask you to come over to the bunker. I thought we could train before you worked on that laptop some more. When you didn’t answer your phone I got worried. You always answer your phone after a few rings. I showed up at Palmer Tech and there you were lying in a heap with your gun in your hand. What happened?” There was a measured amount of concern and a vague tone of sympathy in his voice, which cheered Ray up significantly.

“Someone was in my lab. Completely caught me by surprise. They shot me but before I blacked out I was able to shoot them back with my nanomites.”

“Did you get a good look at them? Male? Female? Build? I checked your office and the laptop is still there. You’ll need to go back and see if anything else is missing.” Oliver had been relieved to find the shot up laptop still in Ray’s office. Chances are this was some sort of corporate thievery rather than Merlyn catching onto them. 

“Based on the height and build I would guess female. Dressed in all black with a full face mask and hat on so I didn’t even catch a glimpse of hair colour.” Ray pauses for a moment to think. “Hard to determine but I felt like they were trained but weren’t a pro somehow. They managed to evade me and get out of there pretty quickly but they hesitated to shoot me, even with a tranquilizer. Definitely not one of your old buddies from the League of Assassins.”

“The person did successfully bypass your security and kill all the feeds on your cameras though which is impressive,” Oliver said looking thoughtful. They already had so much on their plates. He really wanted to assume this wasn’t related to their vigilante activities. 

“We’ll know soon enough who or where they are,” Ray stands up from the couch he had been lying on and walks over to his bay of computers.

“The best thing about nanomites is that they can be tracked. So with just a few clicks of a button I will be able to get you an address and then you can suit up and do your thing Negative A.” Oliver glares at him quietly over the terrible nickname but doesn’t say anything. He’s learnt by now it was best not to disrupt Ray when you needed him to focus lest he launch into an earnest speech about why Oliver was being unkind. 

“Darn it overcooked fudge toffee,” Ray yells, looking uncharacteristically pissed off. Oliver rushes over at once. Ray never swore and this was as close as he got to swearing so some big development had taken place. 

“She, or it could be a very short He, has disabled all my nanomites rendering them useless for tracking. Dry Donuts I can’t believe that. This person is good. I was proud of the programming for this batch of nanomites.” Ray looked positively annoyed and a little defeated.

“What exactly happens when you shoot someone with nanomites?” Oliver asks curiously. More than ever he was now convinced that this person had a problem with Palmer and Palmer alone, which was a problem he needed to help Palmer sort out eventually, being friends and all but it wasn’t the biggest thing they had to contend with right now. 

“Well these ones have been programmed my multiply and damage cells in a person’s system ultimately leading to death so I predict they are going to get very sick and….um….like I said…death.”

“Palmer it is very out of character for you to invent something like that and then to shoot someone with it?” Oliver casts a concerned look in Ray’s direction. Palmer once spent an entire week cleaning rat droppings from the Bunker because he had refused to let Oliver arrow a rat they had. Palmer eventually caught the rodent and released it into the wilderness somewhere. Oliver found it difficult to believe he would invent something to kill and then use it so carelessly. 

“I wasn’t thinking clearly when I shot the intruder,” Ray says defensively after he notices the look on Oliver’s face. “Plus if they hadn’t disabled the nanomites I would have tracked them down and then remotely shut the nanomites down. Now that they’ve disabled the nanomites there is nothing I can do.”

Ray looked so guilt stricken Oliver couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

“You didn’t mean to hurt them and like you said, you were going to disable the nanomites. Hey don’t take it so hard. If they can hack your nanomites they can probably disable them. Good chance they won’t die at all so no point in beating yourself up about it.” He gives Ray an awkward pat in an attempt to console the other man.

“I invented those specific nanomites to be used against Merlyn. I also have others that I’m trialing for medical purposes. Apart from those specific ones they aren’t intended to do harm.” Oliver wasn’t sure if Ray was trying to console himself or clear his name with Oliver.

“We do our best Ray but sometimes things go wrong. Come over to the mats and spar for a bit. I’ll use no hands to give you an advantage so you can try to beat me up until you feel better.”

“With sticks?” Ray asks hopefully, looking less morose than he did a few minutes ago.

***

Felicity sat huddled on her sofa, securing a thick duvet tightly around her body. She just couldn’t seem to get warm despite wearing a thick yellow tracksuit, fluffy pink socks and a pair of white woolly earmuffs. Her hair was the odd combination of frizzy like it had been plugged into an electrical socket (which wasn’t too far off in this case since she had plenty of nanomites coursing through her body) and stringy at the same time.

As she rocked backwards and forwards Felicity tried to channel warm and fuzzy feelings by telling herself that all things considered it could have been much worse. She had managed to shut down all the nanomites. The skin on her shoulder was slowly returning to its normal colour and was no longer a peculiar purple hue. The cold she felt was simply her body working to flush out all the nanomites. That Ray Palmer must have shot her with a hefty dose. She had been sloppy in assuming he was harmless and would not fight back which was silly now that she thought about it. He was operating secretly as a vigilante. 

Her peace to try and generate heat was short-lived as she heard a sharp knock on her door. Come to think of it maybe she zoned out for a while because the knocks were sounding rather frantic. Before Felicity could rouse herself up sufficiently to debate whether she had the strength to crawl to the door or just hide she heard Oliver’s concerned voice. 

“Felicity? You in there? Are you okay? Feliciteee?” 

That was enough to make her momentarily forget her state as an ice popsicle. Felicity bolted upright and considered her options. She could tell him she was sick so a cover story wasn’t an issue. The issue was that she looked like a greasy zombie and she was still on a mission to try and maintain his interest. Maybe if he saw her looking like this he’d call it quits and she can go back to Waller with all the information she had so far, including the mysterious set of plans she found on the laptop. She still had the bug on Oliver’s phone. John would be pleased with this outcome. 

“Felicity,” his voice called again, this time sounding a little more frantic.

“I’m alive,” Felicity shouts at the door, her voice raspy from not drinking or speaking for hours. “I’m…I’m not well. You should go home. I’ll…I’ll talk to you another day.”

Felicity slumped back on the couch. There it was, that cold feeling all the way to her bones was returning again. 

“Felicity open the door!” Oliver shouts, not giving up easily. “Open the door Felicity.” 

Why was he so intense? Felicity found herself wondering. And why did he never call first. Why was he here at her door? Did he suspect something? She quickly pushed the thoughts aside as nonsense. She’d shut down those nanomites as soon as she realized what they were. There was no way they could be traced to her. 

“You should go home Oliver,” Felicity shouts back weakly in a last ditch effort to get rid of him. “It might be catching.”

“Felicity open the door please!” Oliver commands. “I’m not leaving until you open the door. I’ll sit out here and shout out occasionally to make sure you’re not dead.”

“Frack,” Felicity mutters under her breath. Curse him and his caring ways. “Hold on! I’m going to open the door! Could take a while though so don’t freak out and stop shouting,” Felicity calls out to him.

After what felt like an eternity Felicity manages to drag herself to the door. She unlocks it slowly and leans against the doorframe limply. She was beyond caring about what she looked like or what Oliver thought she looked like by now.

“Jesus Felicity what the hell happened? Why aren’t you in hospital?” He grips both of her shoulders firmly and by the time Felicity realizes what was going on Oliver had swept her up neatly in his arms.

“I imagined you holding me like this in different circumstances,” Felicity blurts out. “Circumstances where I look less hideous.”

“You look sick!” he admonishes, still carrying her bridal style.

“Ssss okay,” Felicity mutters. “It’s just a virus. You should go before you catch something. If you could put me back on the couch and throw the blanket on me I’ll be fine. Just going to wait it out. The door is a deadbolt and will lock itself when you go.”

“You’re sicker than I thought if you think I’m going to go anywhere after seeing you like this,” Oliver looks offended, down right angry actually. “Have you even been to the doctor?”

Felicity nods and gives him a pathetic pout because she was tired, her bones ached and here he was being all caring, over protective and his body heat was doing wonders for her cold situation. “I just need to wait it out,” she squeaks woefully looking up at him with her blue eyes as wide as saucers. 

“You need to be in bed not on the couch” he lectures her. “Do you have a hot water bottle? Electric blanket? Have you eaten?” He continues to carry her bridal style as if she weighed nothing while he interrogates her. 

Must be those assassin muscles, Felicity thinks to herself. So impressive. Those biceps. So warm. Gawd what was wrong with her perving on Oliver while she was barely coherent. Apparently coherent enough to appreciate his fine form. To Felicity’s horror she lets out what sounds like a hysterical little chuckle. 

Oliver frowns at her, looking even more worried than before if it were possible. Without another word he carries her into her bedroom where he gently deposits her on the bed and tucks her in. 

“You stay there and do not move you understand? If you need to go to the bathroom you call me and I’ll carry you there. I’m going to make you something to eat.” His face was so stern and full of concern Felicity felt a horrible pang of guilt settle in the pit of her stomach. 

“Trust me moving is the last thing on my mind,” she attempts to joke at him. 

“Try to sleep,” Oliver orders before he kisses her forehead.

***

“Hey, you awake?” his voice is so soft and gentle, almost timid Felicity feels like she’s going straight to hell for deceiving him. She stirs and tries to sit up as Oliver all but flies to her side immediately and helps her up, propping some pillows behind her back. 

“I could only find some eggs and milk in your fridge so scrambled eggs was all I could whip up.” He holds a forkful of fluffy scrambled eggs to her lips before continuing. “See if you can eat this. If you can’t don’t worry. I’ll go grocery shopping and make you something else.”

Felicity takes a bite and then another bite. She was still freezing and her bones ached like hell but her appetite seemed to be just fine. If anything the food made her feel a tiny bit less cold.

“I’ve left a glass of water next to your bed. Can you give me your keys? I’m just going to run out to buy a few things quickly and then I’ll be right back. I’m going to make you some chicken noodle soup for dinner but you have absolutely nothing in your fridge except sodas and chips in your cupboard. What is wrong with you Felicity? How do you expect to get better on that kind of diet?”

“I was hoping my immune system would fight it off?” she answers giving him a sheepish look. He did have a point. Her plan had been to huddle in that couch until she was desperate enough to crawl to the cupboard for chips. 

Oliver answers by way of a disgruntled huff. Before Felicity could defend herself he marches out of the room with her empty plate only to come back with what looked like wine bottles wrapped in kitchen towels. 

“Makeshift hot water bottles,” he explains with a smile, noting the puzzled look on her face. “I’m going to buy you a few proper ones but I was worried you’d freeze to death so use these for now.”

He proceeds to tuck the very warm wine bottles around her. “This too hot?” he asks.

“It’s perfect,” Felicity smiles at him. Not since her early childhood days had anyone taken care of her like this and even those days were few and far between through no fault of her mother’s. Donna was a single mom who worked every shift she could get to put food on the table. 

“I’m going to put your phone on the pillow next to you. Call me if you feel colder or sicker. Call me if you need anything ok?” He smiles a warm gentle smile and kisses her forehead once again before walking out of the room. 

*** 

“Where did you learn to cook like this? It is so delicious,” Felicity gushes as she sits propped up on some pillows while Oliver spoon-feeds her chicken noodle soup carefully. He had also picked up proper hot water bottles, which he filled for her as soon as he got home and a little heating fan which was running cheerfully in her room.

“I…I went through a rough patch after my parents passed away. I left Starling for a while to try and find myself. I learned to cook on my travels,” Oliver answers in a casual tone. He looks away, avoiding her gaze, instead opting to focus on constructing the perfect spoon of soup before feeding Felicity her next bite.

So he learned to cook while he was training to be an assassin. There were so many things about this man Felicity couldn’t even begin to understand. However the undeniable truth was that he cared about her. Deeply.

“Thank you…thank you for everything,” Felicity says moving her icy cold hand to cover his warm one after she finishes her last mouthful of soup.

“Felicity you don’t ever need to thank me,” Oliver responds in a gentle voice before placing the bowl on the floor. “Your fingers are still freezing.”

“I feel a lot better,” Felicity smiles at him again. “What made you decide to come over? You didn’t think to call first?” Her tone is playful and she’s surprised by how perky she sounds.

“I called and texted several times with the intention of asking you over to dinner this weekend. I was going to cook for you but when you didn’t respond I got very worried and decided to drive over.”

It suddenly occurred to Felicity she hadn’t checked her phone, either of her phones at all. Those nanomites had certainly done a number on her.

“I’m really glad you didn’t leave when I told you to,” Felicity looks up at him earnestly. “You were the last person I wanted to see because…well because all this is so new and yet I feel like we’re moving so fast. Too fast. But I’m really glad you’re here. And you did cook for me after all.” She smiles happily but the cold forces her to let out an involuntary shiver. She could feel her chills improving but she’d had this feeling for so long now it was starting to really take its toll on her. 

Oliver doesn’t immediately respond. Instead he pulls back the covers and slides in next to her. Once under the covers he wraps his arms around her and pulls her towards him. “Better?” he asks. 

“Better,” Felicity answers, snuggling into his chest and closing her eyes. She didn’t know what was going on and suspected she was going to pay for this moment of comfort and happiness ten fold in the future but right now she was too exhausted to care. Oliver was here; he cared about her and had swept in like a knight in shining armor. She was tired and sick of trying to be the independent strong girl, always scrambling to save herself. She was going to cherish this moment and repent for it later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe a little Roliver and a lot of Olicity! 
> 
> Just what I enjoy =P


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloooooo
> 
> Your next instalment! 
> 
> I was hoping to do 2 x 3000 word chapters a week but a chapter stops when it stops and this one was longer than 3,000 words hence only one update!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

“Oliver I’m fine. I really am. Please stop hovering around and fussing. It’s a thirty second walk to your front door,” Felicity protests as Oliver puts his jacket on her. He wraps an arm over her shoulder and guides her to the front door of Queen Manor.

Felicity inhales a sharp breath when she finally has a moment to take in her surroundings. Everything was so opulent and yet there was no life, no joy in the place. She knew he was wealthy but couldn’t picture him living in something that almost resembled a castle. A swishy but sterile bachelor pad yes but not this place with its almost haunted feel. Then again he had a haunted past so maybe he saw it fit to make this place his home.

“I’ve never taken a girl here before,” he confesses watching her intently as she ponders why he would choose to remain in a place like this all by himself and why he would bring her here.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to gape. It’s just…kinda weird to reconcile you with you living here.” Felicity spins to get another look at the grounds, Oliver’s jacket sliding off her shoulder. He pounces straight away with those excellent assassin reflexes and quickly throws the jacket over her again. Felicity wondered if she would notice all this if she hadn’t read the ARGUS files on him. 

“Come on in Felicity. I don’t want you to get the chills standing out here. You’ve only just recovered from that virus.” Oliver punches in the code and ushers her inside. 

“You mean the virus that I had a month ago and you’re still bringing it up like I only got over it yesterday?” Felicity teases as he takes her hand and leads her down past multiple rooms, all impeccably furnished. Apart from suddenly vanishing for Team Arrow related business, something that Felicity could predict from the bug on his phone (whenever this happened Felicity would conveniently tell him she was busy with work or engagements with friends, purposely making it easier for him to be away from her without having to make up excuses) Oliver had insisted they spend every moment of their free time together.

“You were so sick Felicity. I don’t think I could handle seeing you so sick again. I just want to make sure you’re ok.” Oliver halts suddenly and moves closer to her, once again giving her that intense gaze with his piercing blue eyes.

Felicity smiles and hits his shoulder playfully in an attempt to lighten the mood. Oliver could be so intense. Knowing what she knew about him it all made sense and was in line with who he was. It still took her breath away sometimes. Waller hadn’t been wrong when she predicted Oliver would be enamoured with her, Felicity just couldn’t understand why. 

“I’m fine. You took great care of me. Nursed me back to health. Will you stop worrying about me?” 

“Not sure I can ever do that,” Oliver responds inching even closer so that their noses were touching now. 

Felicity takes a step back. She knew her mission was to make him fall for her but this felt like it was hurtling out of control somehow.

“Why me?” she manages to blurt out at him. “I mean I know I’m not a bad catch. We obviously get along and the sex is amazing, mind-blowing in fact but don’t you feel like you’re over-investing in this a bit? You’ve only just met me. Do you really know who I am or what I’m like? Haven’t you heard of the expression look before you leap? What if you’re diving into alligator infested waters?” 

Felicity gives him a bewildered look right after she finishes her outburst knowing that she has really put her foot in it now. Her one job was to seduce the man and reel him in. Instead she’s standing in his home warning him to be wary of her. She was making a complete mess of this mission, yet her heart felt ten times lighter after getting everything off her chest. There was a part of her that wanted to warn him. To feel like she’d given him every chance to run from her.

Oliver doesn’t say anything as he continues to watch her for a few seconds. Wordlessly he reaches for her hand and leads her to the nearest room that was furnished with multiple decorative looking couches. One of Queen Manor’s many sitting rooms most likely.

Felicity follows him and obediently sits down on a cream coloured couch not daring to meet his eyes until he gently touches her cheek and tilts her face towards him, those blue eyes watching her searchingly.

“Felicity I don’t know how much you’ve heard about me but the last five years haven’t been easy. I lost my parents and then for reasons that I don’t care to discuss right now I had to send my sister away. Running into you that night was like finding a sunbeam in the middle of a very long dark night. You’re right. I was a little infatuated. I didn’t know you. Infatuation was all I had to go on and the reason why I tried to look for you. But then I did get to know you and you’re intelligent, warm, loving, funny. You make me smile Felicity. I haven’t felt like smiling in a long time so I think investing myself in the person who always makes me smile is worth it no matter the risk. But the important question here is how you feel about this. I can try to back off it makes you uncomfortable but I can only try Felicity.”

One of his hands was intertwined with hers while his other hand was playing with one of her curls; twirling a curl around his finger and then letting it spring back into place. 

Felicity could see clearly at this juncture there were two roads to chose from. Tell Oliver the truth, deliver the painful blow now before he grew anymore attached to her and walk away annihilating both their hopes and dreams. The alternative was to keep everything to herself and find a way out of this. Their feelings for each other were real despite the mountain of secrets and lies. Waller was but one woman and if Felicity could manage Waller and help uncover Merlyn’s plans she would be free to start over. She could give Oliver what he wanted and be the girl he thought she was. 

She leans forward and kisses him on the lips, a soft lingering kiss, her silent promise to him that she was going to try her hardest to make this right. “I really like you Oliver…I hope that you’ll always feel this way about me no matter what.”

“And I hope you’ll always give me a chance to be with you no matter what,” Oliver gives her a wistful look before pulling her in for a kiss. So much had blossomed between them since that very first meeting, all that affection, joy and passion. Would it be enough to overcome the web of lies they were both tangled in? 

*** 

“You must be having great success with Oliver Queen since you’re barely here these days.” Felicity opened the door to find Waller seated on her couch looking perfectly at home, her shoulders straight and stately as if she owned the place. Which technically she did.

Felicity jumped a few inches despite knowing it was very much Waller’s style to make an appearance this way. Waller had a knack for being dramatic in the most understated way as contradictory as that sounded.

“Cripes Amanda, what the hell are you doing here? What if Oliver saw you?” Felicity was slightly angry with herself for startling in front of Waller. She had to tackle this woman somehow and being visibly cowered by her was not going to do Felicity any favours. 

“That’s Director Waller to you Ms. Smoak and you know well by now no one sees me if I don’t want them to.” Waller eyed her up and down and Felicity found herself trying frantically to train her face to be as stony as possible under that scrutinizing gaze. 

“It’s been a few months Ms. Smoak. You have had nothing to report back to me, no useful information on Oliver Queen and yet I know for a fact he spends many nights here just as you spend many nights in his home. I saw it fit to remind you Ms. Smoak that I did not send you in this mission to play matchmaker for you and Oliver Queen. I shouldn’t need to remind you that it is your job to extract information from him, not for you to actually think that this set up I have arranged for you is actually your life.” Waller had mastered the art of conveying detached scorn perfectly as she looked at Felicity with a bored yet hostile expression on her face. 

“You sent me to seduce the man Amanda and that’s what I did. You were right, he’s enthralled with me, heart eyes galore. But it doesn’t change what I told you initially. The man is a trained assassin who leads a double life. A double life that I am not privy to no matter how attracted he is to me. I’ve gained access to his home and his life. You’re just going to have to give me time and not make sudden appearances in my living room that could blow my cover any minute.” Felicity knew Waller was getting impatient, that she needed to give Waller something soon. The data from the bullet-ridden laptop turned out to be another set of plans. Plans that Waller was sure to scoff at as useless even though Felicity knew there was more to them. She wanted to gather enough information on Merlyn’s plans to present an infallible case to Waller. A little knowledge was a dangerous thing and this was especially true when it came to Waller. There were too many lives at stake. Yet Felicity knew there was a delicate balancing act that needed to be performed here. There would come a point where Waller was inclined to act, consequences be damned, especially when she deemed it in the name of the greater good.

“I am not a patient woman Ms. Smoak and you seemingly spending all your time in Oliver Queen’s bed does not appear to be getting any results. I will not remain this patient forever.”

“Well you either pull me from this mission or you’ll just have to be patient,” Felicity snaps at the other woman, surprised by her own irritation. Even though she was still very much under Waller’s thumb, all that time she spent in the real world, all that time with Oliver, it made her feel like a different person. 

Regardless of how this turns out in the future Felicity knew she would never go back to being the girl who was stuck in ARGUS head quarters for three years. She was never going back there again. She’d tasted too much freedom to ever consider going back. 

“He’s taking me as his public date to a Queens Consolidated Gala event next week. He wants us to become a legitimate couple in public. I would say he is pretty serious about me and he can only lead a double life for so long once I am fully entrenched in his life. I know you’re used to getting what you want right away Amanda but don’t ruin this if you want it to work. You were the one who cooked up this idea so don’t storm in and destroy everything I’ve sacrificed to get this far.” Confident that her expression did not betray her, Felicity couldn’t help feeling surprised at how calm and convincing she sounded in front of Waller.

“Very well but do be aware that you are working to time constraints Ms. Smoak.” Waller pauses and smiles at Felicity, a genuinely pleased smile with a hint of pride in it. “I’ve underestimated you Ms. Smoak. A hardened assassin like Oliver Queen falls for you and you appear to be impervious to his charms. We’re a lot more alike than you think. Who would have thought under that bubbly demeanor and pretty face is a heart of stone. I can see a great future for you at ARGUS if you deliver on this.”

“Just so we’re clear once I get you what you want I never want to see you again,” Felicity responds coldly to Waller’s praise. “I am doing this to save the countless lives that may need saving and for my freedom from you. Do not mistake my resolve as me wanting to be your protégé.”

“If that’s how you want it Ms. Smoak,” Amanda nods at her. “I’ve kept my word with the Suicide Squad, I will keep my word with you.” 

*** 

“You’re stunning. I know I keep saying it but you really are,” Oliver smiles at her dotingly as he gives her another twirl. They were on their way to the gala, almost at the door in fact but it had taken them longer to get there due to Oliver periodically stopping to admire in her form fitting bright pink floor length gown with a sweetheart neckline. Her hair was pulled up in a bun with a few lose tendrils floating around her face. Felicity looked poised and elegant tonight but the bright pink dress, those few lose strands of untameable hair gave her a Felicityness that he adored so much.

“Stop saying that, you’re freaking me out,” Felicity laughs, slapping him playfully as she clutched onto his arm. “I know I’m not bad looking but it’s really weird to hear you offer platitudes to my looks over and over again. Especially since I’ve seen the supermodels you used to date.” Her tone was light and she had meant it as a joke but Oliver suddenly halted, that intense gaze returning once again. 

“You know I’m not that person anymore right?”

Felicity answers him with an exasperated huff; “Of course I know you’re not that person anymore. I was at the hairdresser getting my hair straightened, curls have gone mental since I moved here it kills my arm when I try to do it myself, and I perused some old magazines. I was just teasing you. And I’m not used to being swooned at all the time.” She tilts her head to grin at him and rubs his chest in small soothing circles. Felicity’s smile grows wider as she can feel Oliver visibly relax, leaning into her a little more. 

“Do I really swoon?” he asks with a sheepish grin. 

“You totally swoon,” Felicity laughs at him. “And before you freak out and vow to try and swoon less I kinda like it! I’m just learning to get used to it.”

“Oh I would never offer to swoon less,” Oliver smiles dreamily at her.

Felicity shakes her head at him with a fond smile on her face before pulling him along. “Come on let’s get inside you dork.”

***

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your date Oliver? Very different for you to bring a date to one of QC’s functions. Isn’t that the one rule you have? Never bring a girl to anything associated with the family company?” Malcolm Merlyn eyed her curiously. Felicity could tell he was not interested in her personally but rather what it meant for her to be here from Oliver’s perspective. He was trying to gauge what leverage he could gain on Oliver based on this new pattern of behavior. 

“I’ve introduced my date to everyone she needs to know,” Oliver responds tersely, stepping in front of Felicity. Ordinarily this kind of over protective behavior would irk her but she wasn’t about to give up the chance to observe Oliver and Merlyn up close. She remained silent and stood behind Oliver. 

“I actually need to discuss something with you,” Merlyn shrugs, giving Oliver a look which suggested he was severely over reacting.

“I’m hungry. Going to follow my nose and find some canapés to eat,” Felicity gives Oliver a pat on the back and a reassuringly smile before she walks off without giving Merlyn so much as a glance.

Felicity took herself across the ballroom to a side door where she knew the servers would pass through with their trays of canapés. It was a very secluded spot as people went to these things to mingle and network, not to fill their bellies. She pulled out her phone and typed in a few quick commands, activating the microphone on Oliver’s phone. This was going to be an interesting conversation to analyse later. 

*** 

“You know, you look really familiar. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Ray Palmer shuffles up to her and makes no attempt in hiding the fact that he’s observing her up close, eying her up and down. There was no flirtation or attraction involved, Ray was convinced he had seen her somewhere before (indeed he had), and was desperately and not so discreetly trying to work out where that was. 

“That’s because Oliver introduced us earlier and we’ve had a conversation with each other Mr. Palmer,” Felicity smiles at him serenely. There was something unsettling about Ray Palmer. On the surface he was a doofus and haphazard such as his attempts to stare at her right now but under the clumsy, awkward demeanour was a highly observant character. She suspected once Palmer latched onto an idea he was unlikely to relinquish it easily. She really needed to be careful about how she was to handle Oliver’s partner in crime.

“Ha! Sorry I really thought I’d run into you somewhere before. You look so familiar.” He smiles at her good-naturedly and Felicity finds herself wondering if he’s being genuine or is deliberately retreating. 

“You’ve probably seen one too many blondes in a gown at these functions,” Felicity offers helpfully, giving him what she hopes, is a friendly smile.

“That must be it,” he nods at her. “So what are you doing here all alone? Where is Oliver?”

“Mr. Merlyn wanted to have a word with him so I made myself scarce,” Felicity answers, watching Ray’s face as she said this. A fleeting look of annoyance, followed quickly by dread crosses his face before he irons out his features and addresses her.

“Well that gives us a chance to get to know each other. Palmer Technologies has a lot of joint projects with Queens Consolidated. You wouldn’t think we’d get a long but the business relationship works beautifully. Oliver may be prickly in the outside but he’s all soft and smushy on the inside. Like a durian really. One of our projects is an attempt to provide free electricity to the city.”

The fond smile on Ray’s face is sincere as he speaks about Oliver. It comforts Felicity a little to know that Oliver has at least one good friend after everything he’s been through. She wondered how they met, how it all started. They were not necessarily two people whom she imagined would gravitate towards each other. 

“Did you just call Oliver a durian? The stinky fruit?” Felicity laughs.

“I like durian,” Ray says defensively. “It’s my favourite fruit. An acquired taste that I fell in love with while doing business in South East Asia.”

“How did you and Oliver meet anyway Felicity? He wasn’t with anyone for ages while I went on blind date after blind date and then suddenly BOOM! He was all over you like an attack of shingles.”

“Again that’s a very interesting comparison,” Felicity gave him a look of mock alarm. Was his easygoing, breezy persona an act designed to put her at ease? He was cleverly lobbing a lot of questions her way under the guise of being socially awkward. It was obvious that he found her familiar having had that run in with her in his lab. 

“Part of my job description is to update the servers during the graveyard shift. I was upgrading Oliver’s computer and he happened to stop by his office that night.” Felicity kept her tone as casual as possible with a dash of enthusiasm hoping this would appear natural. She wasn’t the best liar and didn’t have the deception training the other agents did. She also had no idea whether Ray Palmer had the ability to read people or not and this made her nervous, something she also had to try and hide.

“Aren’t you over qualified for such a job? You went to MIT and graduated at 19 didn’t you?” Ray was looking at her with a curious expression. Felicity did not detect any hostility but he was definitely questioning the facts. She mentally cursed herself for using so much information from her real life when setting up her ID. Felicity’s theory had been that it would be easier to lie the closer she stuck to the truth. Now the truth was starting to not add up and Ray Palmer could see it. 

When she first embarked on this mission they had no knowledge of Oliver working with a partner. Felicity expected some level of scrutiny but had always thought it would come from Oliver himself. As it turns out Oliver was quite happy not to question any facts about her, simply because deep down Felicity knew she was a symbol of hope for him and he saw her for what he wanted her to be, choosing subconsciously to overlook all the little concerning things about her. He was inexplicably trusting for someone who had been through so much. That vulnerability made Felicity more determined than ever to give him the happily ever after he wanted and deserved. 

“I had a troubled youth,” Felicity responds slowly trying to look wistful in the hopes that Ray would think she was being cagey because of her misspent years. “Made quite a mess of my life before I moved here to start over.”

“Well now that you and Oliver are a public couple if you ever feel like changing places of employment I’d be happy to welcome you to Palmer Tech,” Ray responds with an understanding look on his face. “We are always on the lookout for geniuses.”

“Palmer are you seriously trying to recruit my girlfriend at my own company gala,” Oliver appears seemingly out of nowhere and scowls at Ray. “Do you not realize what bad form that is considering the amount of projects we run together?” 

Oliver’s voice was terse, his shoulders stiff as he glared at Ray. However the sparkle in his eyes gave him away to Felicity who tried to hide her amusement as Ray clumsily began to protest his innocence, looking bewildered and wide eyed. Clearly Oliver and Ray were close (which was understandable considering their other partnership) and it appeared Oliver was enjoying pushing Ray’s buttons for the sheer fun of it.

“Oliver you know he didn’t mean it like that,” Felicity laughs finally deciding it was time to put Ray out of his misery. “Ray here has been very kind. He was getting to know me that’s all.” 

“I just wanted to let Felicity here know that she’s got options,” Ray chimes in earning himself an even more furious glare from Oliver. Felicity looks away in an attempt not to smile. 

“I don’t mean options like dating options! I meant career options in case things go south between you two. You know what they say about couples who work together.” Ray was blissfully unaware of the hole he had dug for himself.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just give that spiel Palmer. I’ll see you tomorrow for our meeting.” Oliver shakes his head at Ray in disbelief and ushers Felicity away. 

“Nice to meet you Ray,” Felicity turns and smiles before making her exit with Oliver. 

***

“What was so urgent you had to keep insisting I come down here to meet you at this time of the night,” Oliver snapped irritably as he stormed into the Bunker. “And while we’re at it, why on earth couldn’t you discuss it over the phone? This better be good Palmer.” 

Palmer was sitting cross-legged on the mats, doing some kind of weird yoga pose and looking excitable. Oliver felt an urge to shake the other man. Felicity was staying over tonight and they’d been getting ready for bed when Palmer’s bleating call came through insisting they had to meet. Fortunately Felicity had been drowsy from the night’s activities and had snuggled down into bed sleepily when he mumbled some excuse about needing to sign a document for someone who was flying out the next morning. 

“Where’s Felicity? What did you tell her when you had to come here to meet me?” Ray asks, staring at him with a strange and restless expression on his face. 

“Lucky for you, she’s asleep. What has she got to do with this anyway? What did you drag me down here for Palmer?” Oliver marches up to Palmer and looms over him crossly.

Palmer continued to sit cross-legged, studying Oliver for a moment before launching into one of his long-winded speeches.

“I was talking to Felicity tonight and you know what she looked so familiar. I mean I hadn’t seen her face before but she looked so familiar. At first I thought it was all those blind dates I went on, maybe she reminded me of someone but then the more I spoke to her the more I got this uncanny feeling that I’d seen her somewhere before. There was this recognizable air that I couldn’t place. Don’t you find it incredibly convenient that she never questions where you go when you suddenly vanish for a few days? I mean I’m all for a secure woman but given your past reputation and how new your relationship is don’t you find it odd that she’s so understanding when you need to leave. Take for example tonight; don’t you think it’s a bit of a coincidence that she’s just too tired and sleepy to question why you’re sneaking out in the middle of the night? And your first meeting with her! What are the chances you run into the girl of your dreams in the middle of the night in your office while she’s updating your computer? I know I’m all for miracles while you’re Mr. Doom and Gloom but isn’t this a bit too good to be true? She went to MIT and graduated at 19 Oliver. She can get a job anywhere doing anything so why after four years in the work force would she be updating computers in the dark on a salary that pays peanuts. At this stage I would also like to point out that the break in at my lab happened after you met Felicity.”

Oliver closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. So Palmer had insisted on dragging him all the way down here for some psychedelic theory about Felicity being the person to break into his lab.

“What are you suggesting Palmer? That Felicity is some kind of spy sent to spy on us and that she broke into your lab? Because that is the most ridiculous notion I have ever heard. I met her and I was charmed by her. I pursued her. Not the other way around. I actively went and sought her out. Do not tell me you brought me down here for this. And what evidence have you got to base this on? A hunch? A cosmic feeling? Did your meditating smelly candles give you a vision?” 

“Did Felicity get sick after my lab was broken into?” Ray asks suddenly jumping up from his cross-legged meditation. 

“What has that got to do with anything?” Oliver shakes his head in disbelief. “What is wrong with you Palmer? You are always raving and ranting about me trying to find happiness and hope and now you’re calling me over in the middle of the night to cast suspicion on my girlfriend?” 

“You didn’t answer my question! Did she happen to be sick in the days after my lab was broken into? Because I shot the intruder with nanomites. A very good hacker obviously deactivated them but they would have been extremely sick while the body tried to expel the deactivated nanomites.” Ray was bouncing a little now, his arms starting to gesticulate. 

“Yes she was sick. She caught a virus. That doesn’t mean she broke into your lab. Don’t be ridiculous. Nothing was stolen anyway and she’s never asked about you. Ever. Plus she went to the doctor. There would be records.” Oliver didn’t know how he was refraining himself from smacking Palmer across his stupid pretty face. Of all the outlandish theories trust Palmer to dream this one up. 

“Well I can hack into her medical files to verify that can’t I?” Palmer attempts to move to the computer bay but doesn’t get there before Oliver reaches out to grab him by the arm, twisting it slightly but barely enough to convey his anger. As angry as he was he took no joy in hurting Ray. 

“You are not hacking into Felicity’s private records based on some insane theory that you have,” he says in a quiet but dangerous voice. Oliver was genuinely furious when he was quiet. Animatedly scowling was his default equilibrium when it came to dealing with Ray. 

“I suppose she would have hacked in first and put in false records. If she can deactivate my nanomites she’s well ahead of me in the hacking department so it’s unlikely I’d find anything on her.” Ray winces slightly as he tries half heartedly to wiggle out of Oliver’s grip. He’d prepared himself for this reaction and to be honest it was less angry than he had envisaged. 

“So you’re accusing Felicity of lying to me for goodness knows why, breaking into your lab but she’s a mega genius who has wiped all digital traces of her involvement so there’s no way you can find proof of everything you’ve accused her of?” Oliver’s voice remains quiet as he lets go of Ray’s arm. His expression softens slightly when he sees how deflated Ray looks.

“Palmer I’m going to walk out of here and pretend we didn’t have this conversation tonight. Let’s chalk this down as your weird attempt to watch out for me and move on from it.”

*** 

_“We’re almost at the finish line and you decide it’s time to distract yourself with a…I would say a shiny new play thing but it looks serious. She’s not a play thing is she?”_

_“She has nothing to do with this. I signed on to complete the Undertaking with you in my parents place and nothing has changed.”_

_“Well you’re doing a lousy job of retaining my confidence in you Oliver because I’m starting to sense that you’re not as fully committed as you used to be. You look like you’d rather play house with the pretty blonde than complete what we set out to do.”_

_“Malcolm there was a reason why I signed up for the Undertaking. To give everyone a fresh start. I want a life for myself when this is over and the Undertaking is the way forward. Don’t you dare question my commitment. I committed to this cause before I met her and I want to make Starling a safe place for her so that what happened to Rebecca and Tommy will not happen to her.”_

_“Very well. Everything is in place. All ready to take place on a nice spring day when no one expects it.”_

_“Malcolm I know you lost Rebecca and Tommy in spring but don’t you think waiting until spring is a little risky. The longer time passes the more potential there is for external factors to interfere.”_

_“No need worry your handsome head about this Oliver. Nothing will fail. I never do anything without multiple contingencies. That’s the trouble with you. You’re just not that bright.”_  

Based on the sounds of the remaining portion of the audio file, Oliver must have walked away after that comment. Presumably after sending a glare or two Merlyn’s way. Felicity shut down the file and reconfigured her phone to its normal mode of operation. She wasn’t ready to go to Waller yet even though the other woman was clearly running out of patience with her. The audio file provided enough proof that Merlyn had a secondary Markov Device. This coupled with the plans she found on the laptop were sufficient proof of it’s existence. Sufficient but not concrete enough for Amanda Waller. Waller expected nothing less that for Felicity to drag in both devices herself before she was inclined to listen to her. 

If she were to exonerate Oliver, Felicity knew she would have to also implicate Ray Palmer as a vigilante and provide evidence in the form of her recordings that they were working together to save the city. Felicity wasn’t sure how she felt about that or how Waller would react. She was loathed to bring another party into Waller’s crosshairs. She needed more time; she needed Oliver to open up to her so she didn’t have to rely on the information gathered by bugging him. 

***

“You were all cuddled in ready for bed when I left. What are you still doing up at this time?” Oliver throws off his jacket and pants before making a beeline into bed next to Felicity. 

“I dozed off for a bit and then my stomach started growling from all the tiny canapés at the gala. I wanted to go raid your fridge but it’s so dark and this place is so big so I just sat here feeling all spooky and then you came home.” It wasn’t a complete lie Felicity told herself as she pouted at Oliver. The house was big and dark and she was feeling peckish. 

Felicity scrambles to his side and proceeds to undo his shirt buttons one by one.

“What are you up to Felicity,” he whispers taking hold of her hands to stop her, stroking her fingers gently.

“I’m not hitting on you if that’s what you’re thinking,” Felicity gives him one of her lopsided winks that makes his heart melt just a little more. Even in this dark room she was his very own little beam of sunshine. It was almost frightening how one person could make him so happy. “You took off everything and forgot to take off your shirt for bed.” 

She’s straddling him by now and making quite a scene unbuttoning his shirt while making sure to touch his chest as often as possible, her warm fingers fluttering everywhere. Suddenly out of nowhere her stomach gurgles, a loud bubbling noise, taking them right out of Felicity’s little seductress routine. 

“You really are hungry,” he smiles at her in amusement as she freezes on top of him looking mortified before she buries her face into his partly bare chest.

Trying his hardest to contain the smiles threatening to erupt, Oliver picks Felicity up, scooping her neatly into his arms as he hops off the bed. “Don’t look like that, I’ll carry you down to the kitchen for ice cream and then we’ll see if your tummy will stay quiet and let you seduce me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is going to end badly isn't it? 
> 
> Haha don't worry! I promised you guys happily ever after and all that but things are going to blow up eventually before we get a happily ever after!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloooo
> 
> Sorry I'm soooo late! I spent all holidays partying with my kid and got NOTHING done at home so now that he's back at school I had to scramble and actually do chores! Then I caught a cold!
> 
> Anyways here is your update!
> 
> Hope you like it!

“I can’t believe Whole Foods was the pit stop you just had to make,” Felicity smiles at him as they walk through the empty Whole Foods parking lot, carrying their grocery bags to the car. After dinner they’d made in an impromptu decision that Oliver would stay over tonight and Oliver had insisted on hitting the grocery store to stock up on the essentials before heading home. Staying the night meant that he loved to wake up early the next morning, kiss Felicity while she snored softly and batted him away (she was not a morning person) and wrestle Felicity into sleepy submission for morning cuddles. When he’d had his fill of cuddling her Oliver would take himself out of bed to make her breakfast. It was steadfastly becoming one of the highlights of his life, waking up next to Felicity. Felicity was his life. There was nothing he loved more than her but it still did not change the fact that her pantry and fridge were either atrociously stocked or bare, so if Oliver wanted groceries he had to get them himself.

Love. That was a word he used now. Not in front of her. Never in front of her. Not yet. He didn’t want to scare her away but he had long ago given up fighting that emotion within himself. He loved Felicity Smoak. He could list all the reasons why he shouldn’t love her, why someone like him shouldn’t love her and stay far far away but he was honest enough to admit to himself that the moment he decided to look her up and see her again was the moment he’d abandon his stoic fight to be alone forever.

It was of course terrible timing with everything Merlyn had planned. Merlyn’s self-assured and almost smug response to Oliver’s suggestion they bring the date forward and the plans Ray had suddenly managed to lift from the bullet ridden laptop confirmed what Oliver had been suspecting. Merlyn had a plan B. One possibly involving a second earthquake machine that Oliver and Ray had no way of finding no matter how much they thought it through. It wasn’t the time to fall in love, to dream of cosy little houses and forever with alluring babbling blondes. 

He couldn’t help himself though. He knew they weren’t where he wanted them to be yet. There were secrets, so many secrets he’d kept hidden from her. If she really knew who he was, what he was, would she still be with him. Oliver didn’t want to think about that. He wanted Felicity and he wanted the feeling of peace and happiness he always felt when he was with her. Somewhere along the way he’d convinced himself that he could do this. He’d survived the League of Assassins and saved his sister. He would find a way to defeat Merlyn and save the Glades so he could hang up his suit and start the next chapter with Felicity.

“I don’t know how someone perfect in every way can have pantry and fridge like yours,” he teases.

Felicity attempts to swipe him with one of her grocery bags. Oliver dodges neatly.

“Hey I called you perfect. Why are you trying to hit me?” Oliver sidles up to Felicity and kisses her cheek playfully. One minute she’s laughing along with him however within a few seconds her expression changes. There it was, that look again. That slightly haunted look he’d gotten a glimpse of once or twice. The look he tried to pretend didn’t exist. 

“I’m not perfect. No one is. You know that right Oliver?” Felicity stops and grabs his arm with her free hand. “If there ever comes a day when you find that I’m less than ideal I hope I don’t fall too far from grace for you.”

Just as Oliver was about to reassure he that she could never do anything to fall in his eyes, the atmosphere shifted. There was a stillness in the air, a sense that something wasn’t quite right. Oliver’s highly trained senses kicked in and he sent the groceries flying as he quickly opened the car door and shoved Felicity inside just in time to deflect an axe, which narrowly missed his shoulder. 

The two attackers charged at him simultaneously. One with an axe and one with some sort of flying ball contraption. This was no capture attempt. They were out to kill him, albeit in their untrained sloppy ways.

Oliver kicked the axe away easily before grabbing a miniature arrow from his suit jacket to throw it at the electronic ball, which sparked, and short-circuited immediately. His attackers were not deterred however and Oliver could see the masked individual reach for what he knew was a gun. Swiftly Oliver made his move and snapped the other man’s neck, a loud snap piercing crisply through the air. The tall assailant with the face paint stared in horror for a split second before trying to retreat but it was too little too late. Oliver was onto him at once also snapping his neck neatly. They knew his secret; they had seen him with Felicity. They couldn’t be allowed to live to report back to whoever sent them. 

Felicity. Oliver froze. Felicity has witnessed him kill two men in cold blood. Without any further thought he raced to the car and threw himself into the driver’s seat, turning to get a good look at her face. Oliver could see nothing but the terrified expression on Felicity’s face. She was scared of him. She’d seen him in his element and now she was frightened of him.

“Felicity…I can explain…” He knew full well he couldn’t. His only recourse was to tell her the truth and even then the truth was a violent story full of bloodshed. One she was not likely to accept.

“We need drive away from here. You need to start driving right now while I scrub all the footage off the video cameras do you understand. Just drive and save all your explanations for when we get home.” Felicity’s voice was slightly shaky, yet she was fully in control of her emotions and was very much aware of what she was saying. The panic in her face was now replaced with a neutral expression. It was as if she’d gotten over the initial shock of seeing him kill and the practical side that Oliver knew she possessed had now kicked in. She gave him a little nod, her eyes moving to the gas pedal to indicate that he needed to drive.

Too stupefied by her reaction, there was little Oliver could do but obey her. He started the car as Felicity pulled out her phone and began typing quickly on it.

*** 

“Did you leave any finger prints?” Felicity asked when Oliver pulled up outside her townhouse.

“Felicity…” he didn’t know what to say. He had expected her to be scared, frightened of him. Of the monster he was. He’d seen the look of panic in her eyes when she saw what he did to those men. His goal then had been to get her to safety, maybe plead for her to listen to him explain before being dismissed by her. He wasn’t expecting this.

“I’ve wiped all the video footage and made a loop so that there is no trace of us visiting or leaving that store. I also deleted your fingerprints from the SCPD database. This way neither the groceries nor bodies can be tied back to you,” Felicity pauses for a second looking up to meet his eye before continuing in a crisp businesslike tone. “I googled you after we met and realized that you’ve had a few run ins with the law so your fingerprints are stored in the system.”

“Felicity,” Oliver blurts out before she can say anything else. “Felicity I don’t know what to say to you. How I would even begin to explain myself. Why you would believe anything I say.”

Felicity let out a small sigh before straightening her shoulders, looking him level in the eye. When she spoke her voice was soft. “Oliver I have an IQ of 170. Starling City is overrun with tales of its two superheroes, the Arrow and The ATOM. Ever since we’ve been together you disappear for days on end. You sometimes run off at all odd hours of the night. You work closely with renowned science genius Ray Palmer and it just so happens that the Arrow’s partner, ATOM flies around in a clunky metal suit. Do you need me to go on because at this point I would say it is fairly obvious who you are and what you do for the city.” There was no anger, no fear or outrage in her tone. She sounded…methodical.

“Is that why you didn’t ever ask any questions? It was always a sticking point with Ray how you never thought I was cheating on you and why you always made it so easy for me to leave for a few days whenever I felt like it.”

“Ray Palmer is a smart man and an interesting choice of partner for you. For what it’s worth I think you picked the right person to help you with your crusade.” Felicity shuffles in her seat, her hands moving to open the door of the car. Without thinking Oliver grabs her arm. She had just calmly told him she knew who he was and now she was leaving him. He couldn’t bear the idea of her leaving him.

“Felicity where does that leave us? Is this it? Is it ending here?” He was still gripping onto her arm, knowing that he would have to respect her and let her go at some point even if he didn’t want to and he really didn’t want to. 

“Oliver let’s go inside first. It’s cold out here in the car.” She gives him a soft smile and curls her hand gently around his arm, tugging it slightly, encouraging him to leave the car. Oliver could feel the tension ebb away from his body. That little gesture from her meant everything to him. He had to believe there was some hope for him and Felicity. 

***

“Where do you want me to start?” Oliver asks watching Felicity intently as she swirled the red wine in her glass, while hugging her knees.

“Start wherever you want to start,” Felicity gives him a gentle encouraging smile, motioning for him to come and sit next to her. 

Oliver takes himself over to the bed where Felicity is sitting, still marveling at how she is still here next to him and why she hadn’t tossed him out of her home and her life yet. Slowly but fuelled by Felicity’s reassuring looks Oliver starts from the beginning and tells her everything.

***

“So for three years you had to do the bidding of this League of Assassins to free your sister because her own biological father traded her life to be released from the League?” Felicity shuddered at the thought even though it wasn’t very surprising coming from a man who wanted to level an entire suburb out of some twisted insane notion of avenging his wife and son. “So Merlyn sold his daughter, his only living child and is now using the death of his wife and son to try and kill thousands of people.”

Oliver didn’t say anything, knowing that these questions were Felicity’s way of processing everything he had told her. Midway through the telling of his saga Felicity had placed down her wine glass and pulled him over, wrapping her arms around him. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Oliver knew that gesture was her way of showing her heartache for his past. His head was now resting on her bare lap as she sat upright and tried to absorb everything she’d learnt about him tonight. 

“Is that why you sent Thea your sister away? So that Merlyn couldn’t find her?” Felicity was gazing at him tearily, running her fingers through his hair. Oliver didn’t know why she was being like this, why he deserved this but he was grateful.

“I know that there is no end with Merlyn until his death. He killed my parents and used his own child as a bargaining chip. He will always try to find a way to use or leverage Thea. So I sent her away to keep her out of sight. Only killing him would really guarantee her freedom from him but I can’t do that yet….” He lets out a sigh as his voice trails off. He hadn’t thought about Thea in a while amidst trying to deal with the Glades issue. He just wanted all this to be over. 

“Because of his potential Plan B to level the Glades? You need to find that second machine. Then you can kill him,” Felicity finishes for him. There were fireworks in her blue eyes, which looked more piercingly blue than ever, fueled by an anger of some sort. Oliver knew it wasn’t directed at him because of the way she lovingly held him. Instead of any scorn or horror that he was so afraid she would level at him, she was angry on his behalf instead. He stared at her in wonderment. Who was this girl he loved and why was she like this? 

Felicity spoke up, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking about. “I also had a troubled past. I made a big mistake and I moved here to start over.”

Oliver found himself desperately wanting to ask her more, to ask her to share everything about herself just like he had shared tonight. Felicity was as closed up as he was despite her sunny exterior. He knew she wasn’t ready though by the haunted look on her face so he kept quiet, snuggling down further into her lap.

“If you want…I might be able to help you. I have certain hacking skills that are beyond the scope of my role at QC. I know you have Ray but maybe I can help as well.” Felicity bends down and kisses his cheek however Oliver can see that she has this far away look in her eyes. He doesn’t think that it’s him. She’d shown him in their very first meeting that she wasn’t a woman to be trifled with and Oliver knew she would have walked away from him right there and then if she couldn’t accept him. Yet there was this forlorn look on her face he couldn’t work out.

“I just don’t want you to leave me Felicity. I’m scared of losing you. After I met you I started to let myself dream that I could defeat Merlyn and start over with you. I was hoping you would never need to know about my double life. Those two guys I killed, I don’t even know who they are, just that they were out for blood. So I had to kill them to eliminate the future threat to myself and to you. I’ve got a lot of blood on my hands Felicity. Even if I defeat Merlyn and save a few lives I’ve still got this violent past with the League and everything else that I’ve done which I can never truly run from. I wouldn’t blame you if you left.” 

He buried his face in Felicity’s stomach not wanting to leave, not wanting to face the world. This was his happy place. He could stay here forever.

“You need to stop worrying about these things and focus on kicking Merlyn’s ass.” Felicity’s face was full of resolute. “I will never leave you Oliver. There may come a day when you don’t want me anymore but I will never leave you.” 

“I will always want you Felicity,” Oliver murmured as she continued to stoke his hair before bending down to kiss him. 

*** 

Oliver waited tentatively for Palmer to respond. There was nothing but silence. He never thought Palmer being silent would unnerve him so much. He usually prayed for such silence imagining the bliss he’d feel to not have Palmer natter incessantly at him.

Palmer stood in their Bunker wordlessly as he tried to process everything Oliver had told him. His face was unreadable, something else which surprised Oliver. Palmer was usually an open book.

“So you told her everything? You didn’t stop to find out who tried to kill you, you just went ahead and told her all your secrets including OUR secrets and my identity,” Ray’s voice was quiet when he finally did speak.

“She’s an intelligent girl Ray, she guessed right away that we were working together and who you were. You’re right. All the convenient times she’d let me disappear for days, never asking questions. She put two and two together pretty early on but didn’t want to make a big deal of it.” It was such a surreal moment in their partnership, a huge change in dynamics with him being the one to try and appease Palmer this time. If Palmer wasn’t so upset right now, he’d be marveling at this reversal of roles and call it growth.

“I suppose you didn’t think that…. you know what never mind,” Ray stops abruptly with the air of one who was resigned with how things were. Oliver could guess what Ray had been about to say. Oliver knew Ray was still clinging onto the idea that Felicity had orchestrated this somehow even though his theory made no sense. Now was not the time to get into an argument and challenge each other about it. Oliver wanted Ray to accept that Felicity was going to be down here working with them to stop Merlyn. The way she had hacked those cameras and deleted his fingerprints from the SCPD database, the calm and collected way she had ordered him to leave the parking lot. Felicity was perhaps the element they’d been missing all these years. As long as he could broker some sort of cooperation on Ray’s end he was content to leave Ray with his own views about Felicity. Oliver was confident that with time Ray would come around.

“One assailant wore a mask, the other had face paint on. Considering the fact that we were grocery shopping in the middle of suburbia we had to leave there fast. I didn’t stay to unmask and work out who they were. This is not the first time this kind of thing has happened remember? Could be anyone from my past.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing Oliver. This is the last time I’m going to comment on the subject. Over the last two years you’ve become not only my partner but also my friend. I’ve always chided you about opening yourself up to human relationships and learning to trust people. Now that you’ve suddenly decided to take my advice I hope for your sake it works out. No matter what my suspicions are I want the best for you.” Ray reaches over and pulls Oliver in for an awkward man hug causing Oliver to break into a smile. It was a relief to see Palmer being his typical self again 

“Just be nice to her ok when I bring her in. Don’t crowd her or ask awkward questions. I know you don’t trust her yet but try not to have a cartoon expression of suspicion every time you look at her.”

“I do no such thing,” Ray replies looking miffed as Oliver suppresses a laugh. Palmer’s outraged is short lived however as he grins good naturedly before adding, “I’ll bake a basket of blueberry muffins and put out the good cushions I’ve been saving for when you bring her down here.”

****

“Waller we need to talk,” Felicity snaps as she pushes her way into the ARGUS meeting room where Waller was going through some plans. Oliver had requested a day to go find Ray and update him on everything that had transpired. Felicity had taken the opportunity to storm her way through ARGUS to ask Waller what the hell she thought she was doing. 

“Once again it’s Director Waller to you Ms. Smoak,” Waller replies coolly not looking up from her stack of papers.

“What the hell did you think you were doing sending those two goons out to try and kill Oliver? You only succeeded in getting them killed. Which part of give me more time did you not understand. Especially when I’ve already debriefed you on my suspicions that he is not working with Merlyn but may in fact be working against him covertly.”

Felicity’s shock from that night was partly the result of witnessing Oliver kill so easily and swiftly. It was the first time she’d seen that side of him, the side that was outlined in the ARGUS files she read. The side that she so conveniently blocked out ever since she started falling for him. 

The second thing that staggered her that night was the fact that she immediately knew Waller was behind this. It had all the hallmarks of a Waller job. Waller had hired two incompetent goons from somewhere knowing full well that there was a good chance Oliver would dispose of them easily.

“It worked didn’t it Ms. Smoak? They didn’t leave a scratch on him and he broke down and brought you into the fold right after I assume? I said I would give you time Ms. Smoak. I did not say I wouldn’t interject to speed things along.” Waller had a smug look on her face. One that wordlessly demanded Felicity thank her for the favour Waller had pulled. 

“You should have warned me so I knew ahead what was going to happen. You were the one who forced me into this mission Waller. You can’t just jump in and play a hand here and there whenever you feel like it.” Felicity had always know Waller could be unpredictable, however to be confronted with this so suddenly unnerved her in ways she didn’t even want to think about. 

“I assume you have a lot of information to share about Oliver Queen after your little ordeal together? Nothing like a small life or death situation to bring people together Ms. Smoak.”

“I’ve compiled a report of everything I learnt from him and sent it to you. DON’T interfere again Waller. There are countless lives at stake here. Oliver is so close to stopping Merlyn and now that I have the access to work with him on this I know we will be able to stop Merlyn. Don’t do anything to jeopardise this.”

“I see it’s Oliver now. Be careful Ms. Smoak. You might not be as immune to those broody assassin good looks as you think.” Waller had an expression that was part scornfully triumphant, part curious as she watched Felicity intently to gauge her reaction.

“I have attached myself to the man long enough to determine what kind of person he is and it doesn’t matter who he is. What I care about is that he is trying to stop Merlyn and I can help him so even though you sending me on this mission is despicable, something good will come of it when all those innocent lives are spared.” Felicity gestures at her surroundings. “I will walk away from this, away from you when it’s over Waller. That’s all I’m interested in.” 

Felicity turns her heel and storms out, slamming the door behind her, feeling a small sense of satisfaction that at the very least she could stick it to Waller verbally. The feeling was brief as Waller’s comment about her and Oliver came back to haunt her. She tried to push the uneasiness away telling herself that while Waller may be a loose canon when it came to ARGUS decisions, she had better things to do than to interfere with suspected personal matters that were of no use to her. And once they defeated Merlyn Felicity would cease to matter to her.

As she sat in her car staring at nothing in particular, Felicity once again found herself second-guessing her decision not to tell Oliver her side of the story that night. If there was a time to tell the truth, that was it. The moment where maybe she should have laid everything bare. She’d said enough for him to understand she had a complicated past but to see him so vulnerable, so afraid that she was going to leave him. Felicity didn’t have it in her to crush him with the truth. Because deep down she knew as strong as Oliver was, as resilient as he had been, this was the first time he’d let that part of his heart open up and if she were to tell him their relationship was built on a web of lies, it would destroy what little faith he had left in his ability to love and be loved. It would not only destroy them but it would also jeopardize their efforts to save the Glades.

She could never let him know the truth. Felicity was determined to take that secret with her to her grave. Oliver had spent some of the best years of his life saving his sister and then righting his parent’s wrongs. It was high time someone saved him. She had to get away from ARGUS, get away from Waller and give Oliver the Happily Ever After he deserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh noes! Felicity has a hero complex!!!!!
> 
> ***
> 
> hehe I didn't name them but I assume you all caught onto who the two goons who got their necks snapped were?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiii Guys!!!!
> 
> Remember me?????
> 
> I am SOOOO sorry for the lack of updates on this! 
> 
> I initially wrote this story, completely motivated by this one scene which was to take place in a later chapter. I had ripped it off a Chinese series and it appealed to my melodramatic soul. However in lieu of recent events in the media this scene will now come off as highly insensitive so I had to scrap it altogether. This meant that the ENTIRE back half of my plot had to be fixed and tinkered with so I had to rewrite my story plan before I could actually update.
> 
> Happy to report story plan has been fixed and I am back on track!

Felicity slowed down the pace of her typing, tap tapping away methodically waiting for the inevitable conversation to take place. Oliver had gone on patrol, citing some minor issue but really she knew he just wanted to get out of the way to leave her alone with Ray. Oliver had told her enough about his partnership with Ray and Felicity herself could read the other man’s skepticism to understand that they inevitably had to address the elephant in the bunker, namely Ray’s wariness towards her.

Felicity could see the irony in the situation. According to Oliver, Ray Palmer was the epitome of sunshine and rainbows who thought the best of everything and everyone. That is until it came to her. Ray had an inherent distrust for her, one that was right on the money if she were to be honest. There was a part of her that wished this were not the case. That she’d just been some ordinary girl who Oliver fell for while she was updating his computers. For a moment it struck Felicity that her plan to bring this secret to the grave with her was because she desperately wanted to be who Oliver thought she was.

“He’s not very subtle our Oliver,” Ray says as he walks up to her with a nervous but good-natured smile. “He’s never called me in and then left to go on patrol before.” Ray shuffles from one foot to another before adding, “I guess we should talk huh?”

“I think so Ray. I believe you have some concerns about me that need addressing?” Felicity is surprised to find her tone friendly, despite the formal nature of her words. However uncomfortable this conversation was going to be, it was plain to see Ray was doing this out of his…fondness for Oliver. In some strange way Felicity felt the whole thing was rather impersonal. Ray seemed to have nothing against her in particular as long as she didn’t hurt his friend.

“I took the liberty of preparing us some tea and refreshments,” Ray beams at her, looking pleased at the prospect of finding someone who didn’t have the means to refuse to have a tea party with him.

Felicity bites back a smile. She knew from Oliver’s many rants that this was true Ray Palmer in action and that Oliver would have none of it if he were in the bunker. Felicity on the other hand didn’t mind. In fact if not for the uncomfortable exchange that was waiting to happen she would enjoy a tea party with Ray.

Ray leads the way to the large conference table where according to him they held “team meetings”, no doubt another idea of his. Felicity finds herself marveling at how this partnership has flourished all these years considering the vast difference in tastes and temperaments between the two men involved.

When they reach the table there is a full spread laid out. A matching tea set complete with delicate gold rims and patterns of yellow and pink roses adorning them. Little sandwiches with their crusts cut off, miniature cupcakes that were frosted beautifully and teeny tiny little tarts, lemon meringue and chocolate if she observed correctly. 

“I made the sandwiches but the sweets come from this wonderful bakery in Starling,” Ray explains, obviously cottoning on to her disbelief at how he could find the time between crime fighting and baking up a storm. “Oliver actually makes the best lemon meringue pie ever. You should ask him about that some time.”

The thought of two of Starling’s vigilantes sitting around having a slice of home made meringue pie that one of them baked was too much for Felicity who burst out laughing at the image of Ray and Oliver formally having tea in the their respective Arrow and Atom suits. “Oliver is a great cook I know but somehow I wasn’t expecting him to go as far as lemon meringue pie,” Felicity explains as she sits down.

“He’s got a softer side that doesn’t come out often but it’s there,” Ray says in a careful tone, sitting down and pouring Felicity some tea while he keeps a watchful eye to gauge her reaction. “And that’s why it needs to be protected at all costs. He may think he’s beyond his redemption but somewhere deep down there is a light left in him and he just needs someone to harness that light and make sure it doesn’t extinguish once and for all.” 

Ray gives Felicity a meaning look and she decides to cut to the chase immediately. “I want the best for him no matter what you may think of me. I know that for some time now it’s been his life to save Starling and in particular to stop Malcolm Merlyn. I want to help him do that, to help you both do that.” 

“It doesn’t change the fact that you’re not who you say you are.”

Felicity’s denial is just on the cusp of her tongue when Ray jumps in again quickly. “You can deny it all you want and I am not here to seek some confession from you so that I can claim victory. I take no satisfaction in being right about you. But I have the benefit of clarity, being on the outside looking in, something Oliver doesn’t have because he is so in love with you. You are not who you say you are. I will admit I have tried to find everything I can about you and I have found nothing but the bland information you have put up about yourself. Just don’t hurt him. Don’t break his heart. Whatever it is you’re up to, whatever it is you’re involved in, don’t shatter the faith he has in you. You can’t even begin to know how vulnerable he is to you, even he doesn’t realize the extent of it himself.”

“Funny how your main concern is that I’m going to break his heart, not that I might jeopardize your mission,” Felicity says with a hint of defiance in her voice.

“Oh I don’t think you’re a killer. Far from it. I know you want to do good. I can see it in your eyes. I believe you want to save the people of Starling as much as we do. But you’re hiding something and you’re not who you claim to be. This happiness you’ve gifted Oliver with, it’s built entirely on a house of cards. You need to sort it out for his sake because I will not let anyone hurt someone I think of as my best friend.”

“It’s too late for me to walk anything back now.” Felicity decides that Ray has obviously hit the nail on the head and was firmly set in his stance. There was nothing she could say to change his mind. It felt ridiculous to continue with the denials, especially since she believed Ray was just as protective of Oliver as she is and probably didn’t want him to find out the hard truth anymore than she did. “I…I want what’s best for him just like you do. He’s had a lifetime of heart ache and I certainly don’t intend to be the one to cause him any more pain. I love him. Regardless of what you think I do love him.”

“You know, I believe that,” Ray says quietly. “Don’t forget sometimes things are out of your control. You’ve played the part of his dream girl and I get the feeling you want to see it through but please be careful so that you can keep any promises you made him.” 

“I will,” Felicity nods her head firmly with a determined look on her face. “I will never let anything hurt him, myself included.”

“Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, have a sandwich,” Ray switches gears in an instant and smiles at her as he holds up the plate of crust-less smoked salmon sandwiches. Felicity picks up a sandwich and takes a bite. Ray Palmer was certainly an interesting individual. He reverberated between awkwardly good-natured to intensely focused in a manner of seconds.

Ray, having been satisfied that he had made peace with his worries about his partner, began chattering away, telling Felicity excitedly about all his plans and ideas now that she had joined the team and they had the full technical advantage. Felicity found herself lost on her own thoughts as she politely listened to Ray, nodding and making the right comment at the right time despite her mind being far away.

It all seemed so very simple. Disarm the Markov device, find second Markov device and disarm that, kill Merlyn, fulfill her deal with Waller and then she was free to love and be loved by Oliver. One step at a time she told herself. 

*** 

“Oliver what are you doing whisking me off when the city has the potential to fall apart. What’s gotten into you? Where are we going?” Felicity protested as Oliver bundled her into the car. He had crept behind her suddenly the other night while she was working on perfecting the chip for Ray’s suit, wrapped his arms around her and declared that they needed to get away for a few days. Despite Felicity’s protests, no was not an answer Oliver would accept and so she found herself in his car, packed haphazardly for a road trip.

“We need a break. Ever since you joined the team it’s been one thing after another and I feel like I had more of you when I was lying to you and sneaking off to be a vigilante on the side. Now that we’re working side by side we never do anything after work besides shutting ourselves in the bunker. Palmer gets out more than we do.” Oliver scrunches up his face and reiterates, “Palmer has a perfectly active social life, PALMER,” as if this represented a personal failing on both their parts. 

“You’re not social!” Felicity can’t help but laugh at him despite her exasperation. He did have a point but this was so unlike him. Between the two of them she would think she was the one more likely to plan an impromptu getaway. At least she thought she would have been before Waller. There were a lot of things Felicity knew she looked forward to discovering about herself when all this was over. 

She did enjoy seeing this side of Oliver though despite it cropping up at the most inconvenient time. That was why she had agreed to the trip after a bout of protesting. Knowing everything she did about him, it was nice to see him unshackle himself from his obligations even just for a little bit. Oliver deserved so much more than what life had given him and it made her intensely happy to see he was starting to realize this.

“I don’t want to be social. I just want some time alone with you. I swear Palmer spends more time with you these days while you tinker with his chip.” Felicity and Palmer were getting along much to his relief. He’d come back that night to find them having tea together, no doubt instigated by Palmer. Oliver was happy but a part of him longed for the days when he had Felicity alone to himself, away from that aspect of his life that he shared with Palmer. 

“Well you should be glad I finally got his chip in perfect working order since you’ve left him to roam, no fly around the city by himself. At least his chances of getting hurt are lower.” Felicity smiles as Oliver scowls at the thought of Ray doing patrol, not in the discreet manner approved by Oliver but by flamboyantly zooming around the Starling skies.

“Enough talk about Ray, you took me away so we didn’t have to talk shop. Can’t you at least tell me where you’re taking me?” Felicity tugs at his arm gently and bats her eyes at him, surprising herself with how happy she was around him and how willing she was to let her barriers down and just regress into a starry eyed girl. 

“You’ll work it out soon enough. I just wanted to take you somewhere nice for a few days where we can forget Starling and enjoy us.” Oliver removes one hand from the steering wheel and strokes her knee fondly.

“You do know that I’m happy anywhere with you right? As long as you’re in my life it doesn’t matter where we are, I’ll always be happy.”

“I know,” Oliver smiles, leaning over to give her a kiss. “But it will be nicer to be happy in a place that is not full of criminals for a few days.”

***

“I don’t want to leave,” Felicity sighs as they walk hand in hand back to their hotel. Well Oliver is walking, she is bounding a bit in her heels and little red dress, much like a little black dress but red because red was her colour and Felicity didn’t care much for black except when she was on a mission. 

There was something wonderful about Opal City. It was charming, clean and most of all safe. With high-end jewelry stores, fine dining establishments and five star hotels it was everything Star City wasn’t, a true holiday destination. 

“You wrinkled your nose and said it was too pretentious and posh when we pulled up to the hotel,” Oliver laughs at her. 

“That’s because I didn’t know I would fit in so well with pretentious and posh,” Felicity gives a little bounce and turns to face him. “I adore posh now! I love that I can select from a pillow menu at the hotel and all the delicious food we’ve been eating.” She pauses to pull on Oliver’s tie, wagging her eyebrows suggestively, “I adore the giant bath tub that fits both of us.”

Suddenly Oliver stops abruptly, causing Felicity to collide into him. He steadies her and pulls her flush against his body. “Marry me,” he breathes, looking into her eyes with an intensity she had never seen from him before. And the man was intense, mostly always intense so that was saying something.

“Excuse me?” Felicity was well aware that her jaw had unhooked from its hinge and she was now staring at Oliver like a stunned goldfish. Not the ideal response to a marriage proposal. But she couldn’t quite believe she was hearing a marriage proposal in the first place. Maybe she was imagining things. She did have more than her fair share of red wine tonight. 

“Marry me? I know I’m not down on one knee but I have my mother’s ring in my pocket and I did my research before coming here. There is a nice elderly man who lives in a little house just out of town who is licensed to perform marriages.” 

Felicity continues to stare at him, hearing his words but not quite comprehending them. Why was Oliver asking to marry her right now? Why did it seem so sudden and yet so meticulously planned at the same time? He took her out of town, he had a ring, and he had found someone to marry them. All in the midst of them trying to save the people from the Glades and defeat Malcolm Merlyn, he wanted to marry her.

Unperturbed by her shell shocked state; Oliver leans in to kiss her on the forehead. “I know this seems like a really bad time with…with so many unresolved issues we have going on in our other life. But I love you and I want to marry you. And I need a sign that there is something amazing and good waiting for me on the other side when I fulfill my obligation of saving the Glades. You’re that something good Felicity. There was nothing good before you came into my life. I love you so much. Ever since I met you I’ve wanted to marry you, even when you didn’t know my secrets and now that you do, well why wait.” 

Felicity blinks but continues to stare at him. Never in her life had she been taken so completely by surprise over something. She’d been scared when Waller approached her in jail, felt utterly hopeless when she struck her initial deal with Waller, terrified and angry when she was sent on this mission. She wasn’t scared right now, just completely and utterly floored. Oliver wanted to marry her and he wanted to do it tomorrow. With all the secrets she was keeping from him. Could she even legally marry him? Yet Felicity felt there was only one response she could give.

Wordlessly she nodded and watched as she saw the relief and then elation cross his face. Without saying a word she throws her arms around his waist and buries her face in his chest.

“Is…is that a yes?” Oliver asks her gingerly. “You…you..um nodded but you haven’t said anything.”

“Yes! Yes that’s a yes,” Felicity pulls away from his chest and looks up at him, her eyes tearing up.

“Uh…you look upset. Are you ok Felicity? I planned to get down on one knee but I totally forgot and kinda just blurted the proposal out.” Oliver looks a little worried as he wraps his arms around her, enveloping her into a warm hug.

“I’m just a little shocked. No make that very shocked. But I am happy,” Felicity wipes a tear away with her hand and lets out a watery chuckle at just how absurd the situation was. 

“I love you and I always want to be with you so yes I will marry you.”

“You won’t regret it Felicity,” Oliver cups her face and looks at her earnestly before pressing his forehead against hers.

 _But you might regret it_ a small uncomfortable voice echoes in her head as she looks at the joy and sincerity in his face. She would do anything, give up anything to make sure he didn’t regret this, regret her. 

“I will always love you Felicity Smoak. You make me the happiest man in the world,” Oliver says before leaning in to kiss her. 

***

“You married him? YOU just decided of all the things you could have done, could have said, that it was a good idea to marry him. And so you did. Is this even legal? Because who are you actually legally? We DO NOT REALLY exist in the real world Felicity. Why did you do this? It has absolutely no bearing on your mission and will only make things worse when it’s over.” John raves and he paces up and down the shaggy carpet in her living room, gesticulating wildly, waving his arms about to stop himself from shaking her. 

“What were you thinking Felicity?” he booms at her again before stopping dead in his tracks to give her a look that suggested his heart was about to stop.

“You love him. Oh Felicity. You went and fell in love with him.” John holds his head between his hands and closes his eyes. “Why Felicity? I know you’re inexperienced but you should know better than this. And you went and married him. How did you imagine this was going to play out? You’re going to drive off into the sunset together after all these secrets and lies? Did you forget that he is a killer? You lied to him. You were sent by Waller to seduce him. He might want to help the Glades but there is a killer inside him. How do you think he is going to handle you when it inevitably gets out?”

Felicity wisely decides not to say anything in the meantime and peeks up at him meekly. She will explain herself in due course. For now it appears John really needs the space to get all the dismay he felt out of his system. John paces for another few steps before continuing again.

“I should have known better. I should have kept a better eye on you. The truth is I suspected you might develop a crush on him. It’s hard to tell the difference between reality and fantasy in this life we lead. The lines get blurred. He’s handsome, charming, a supposedly reformed tortured soul who wants to do good and he’s infatuated with you. So I expected that maybe you would develop some feelings but ultimately know that this cannot be. That you and him are not an option. Felicity what have you done? By marrying him you’ve made things so much worse for yourself. The betrayal will be bigger and even more insurmountable when he finds out.” 

“He doesn’t have to find out John. Once this is over we’ll just be together. I’ll be done with Waller. Oliver doesn’t need to find anything out.” Felicity doesn’t know what else to say. There were so many things she wanted to say, to explain to John but she couldn’t find the words and she wasn’t sure that he would understand. He wouldn’t understand the look on Oliver’s face. The hope and happiness on Oliver’s face when they said _I do_. John wouldn’t understand all the trials and tribulations Oliver had gone through, and how this very small act in the scheme of things had given him so much happiness, so much to live for. Felicity knew she wanted to be with Oliver. What did it matter whether she married him now or later?

“Felicity,” John shakes his head at her in frustration again. “You know these things have a way of blowing up. In all my years of working as an agent, no agent has ever decided to start a life with their target. It was a mission. A job Felicity.”

“I love him John. And he loves me. If you’re worried that he’ll hurt me when he finds out I can honestly look you in the eye and tell you he would never touch a hair on my head no matter how angry he is with me.”

“He is a trained killer and everything about your relationship with him is a web of lies Felicity. You were sent to procure his affections. How do you think he is going to feel about that? Imagine how the average person would feel about that and now extrapolate that to a trained killer.”

“He doesn’t have to find out John. We are agents. You said so yourself. I am supposed to be an agent so I can make sure Oliver never finds out about this. And the thing you need to understand is Oliver subconsciously doesn’t want to dig deep to find the truth about me. So many things have happened that don’t add up and he’s looked the other way. He doesn’t want to know John.”

John shakes his head at Felicity and slumps down on her sofa, with the air of one who feels defeat and has given up. “This could all be going to hell in a hand basket at any moment Felicity. Whatever you do make sure Waller doesn’t catch even the tiniest whiff of this. I will do whatever I can to give you a heads up when it comes to Waller.”

Felicity opens her mouth to speak but John gives her a warning look before interrupting her. “Just because I think you have made a horrible mistake doesn’t mean I will leave you to sink. Just please promise me you’ll be careful. You have so many things to juggle right now. Saving the Glades, Oliver, Waller.” 

“I know you think I’ve made some terrible decisions and that my relationship with Oliver is brought on by my inexperience as an agent but I haven’t felt this happy or hopeful in a long time John. For the first time in a long time it’s as if I’m truly living again. I have a purpose in life. I’ve made my own decisions. No matter what happens they are decisions I made myself and I stand by them. It’s been so long since I’ve done that.”

At this comment John shoots her a look as if to say _How am I to respond when you say things like that?_ Felicity simply smiles back at him earnestly knowing that her words were true. She was no longer drifting through life, waiting for whatever it (or rather Waller) threw her way. She was taking charge, taking risks. Sure there might be consequences but at least she was truly living. 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallooooo
> 
> Here is your latest update! I was busy and then sick and now I have to pack for my trip hence the long delay!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it! We're 2 chapters from completion!!!!!

Oliver watches as Felicity stares blankly at nothing in particular, a far away look on her face as she ran some code she had written earlier that evening. He’s seen that look on her face far too often of late. At first it had been a huge cause of concern for him. What could possibly cause his wife to have that haunted look on her face, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders?

Was it something he did? Did she regret marrying him in haste? He’s always been one for secrecy, alone on his own island. These things went hand in hand with the life he leads and yet it’s dawned on him over the past few weeks that he knew very little about the woman he married. Felicity for all her excitement and colourful babble never reveals anything of substance about herself. There was so much he didn’t know about her. Oliver suspected he’d broken several barriers and rules he’d set up to protect himself when it came to Felicity and yet there was a part of him that was too scared to ask, too scared to push her into revealing more about herself. In some ways she was like an open book, written entirely in a language that was foreign to him.

Still the fact that she had agreed to marry him right there in Opal City was enough to reassure him that she wanted to be with him, wanted to spend the rest of her life with him and for now that was enough. When they finished dealing with Merlyn and the Undertaking he would have the rest of his life to make discoveries about Felicity. 

“Come let’s go home,” Oliver walks over and places both hands on Felicity’s shoulders, gently massaging them as she sighs and leans into him. He kisses the top of her head, “You can get those alerts sent to your tablet at home.”

“My new code is scanning the entire city for markers of a second earthquake device,” Felicity protests. “I can’t leave.”

“Felicity you said yourself this is code you just finished writing earlier today. We don’t know how long the scans will take, how many false alarms may be triggered. You can’t possibly sit here until it gives you location. You have to leave sooner or later. Even Palmer has gone home for the night.” He leans down and kisses her head again, nuzzling her hair, which was so comforting in it’s soft fluffiness. 

“Don’t you have any faith in me? The woman you married?” she huffs at him. For a moment Oliver looks taken back. He has insulted her somehow and he’s not sure how. 

“You implied my code will take ages,” Felicity scowls at him, looking thoroughly annoyed. Felicity had a one track mind when it came to certain tasks. Catching Merlyn and ending this seemed to be one of them. There was a tenacity and almost desperation in her to find Merlyn’s second device, which Oliver could not understand. He knew she wanted to ensure everyone was safe and neutralize the threat that was Merlyn. It was what he wanted. It was what Palmer wanted. They had devoted years of their life to this. Yet Felicity was positively anxious about this in a way that he could not understand. God knows he had a one track mind himself, yet Felicity seemed hell-bent on ending this as swiftly as she could, to the point where he suspected every hour and every minute that passed was beginning to gnaw at her nerves. 

“Felicity you are a genius and I know your code might find the second Markov device in the next hour or the next five minutes. But even if it did we won’t be doing anything tonight. We’d have to study and do recon on the site and think about how we would approach it. You said so yourself the machine might be booby-trapped. We wouldn’t just barge in so there really is nothing we can do tonight.” 

He wraps his arms around her and nuzzles her neck with his stubble. “Come on let me take you home and make you dinner. Wind you down, help you relax.” Oliver begins to kiss her shoulders as he feels her body unwinding, the nervous tension slowly ebbing away from her.

“Is it bad that your ex ninja self is being waaaay more rational about this than I am?” Felicity mumbles as she arcs her neck to search for his face, pulling him in for a kiss.

“Fortunately for you I am great with relaxation techniques,” Oliver answers between kisses. Felicity lets out a small wail when he pulls away. “Come home, take a shower and eat some dinner,” he instructs before he leans down to give her another kiss, this one a little hungrier. He grins when Felicity emits a high-pitched wail as he breaks this kiss, holding her cheeks between his palms. “There will be dessert,” he coaxes, smiling brightly at her, as if he hadn’t purposely tried to wind her up at all.

“What kind of dessert?” Felicity whines, pouting at him.

“The kind that you like.” Oliver winks at her. He isn’t often in the mood for banter but tonight his heart soars seeing the way he is able to lighten Felicity up and snap her out of the slightly darker place she had retreated to. Since their very first meeting, Felicity has been a source of light and joy for him. There was something so satisfying about him being able to distract her and alleviate her woes. 

“But I like both kinds of desserts,” Felicity grins at him eagerly, really perking up at his suggestion now. 

“Who said there was only one kind of dessert on offer Mrs Queen?” Oliver taps his wife on the nose before hauling her out of her chair and throwing her over his shoulder, attempting to walk out of the Bunker. 

“Nooooo I need my bag and tablet and cables,” Felicity protests as she dangles on his shoulder.

“Stay put, I’ll get them,” Oliver slaps her bottom cheerily as he swings around to gather the items Felicity demanded, hastily cramming them into her handbag before marching out.

“Why is your hand still on my butt over?” Felicity asks still dangling from his shoulder as he makes his way to the car.

“Gives me a better grip,” Oliver responds unscrupulously as he gives her bottom another slap. 

***

“Sufficiently relaxed?” Oliver asks wrapping his arms around a limbless Felicity who is sprawled naked on top of him.

“Mmm very,” she mumbles with a blissful look on her face. Oliver gazes at her, his eyes shining. They were not always there yet but one day, one day she was always going to have that look on her face.

“So which dessert did you prefer?” he whispers pulling a blanket over them as Felicity settles into him.

“You know I like both! It’s hard to pick between them,” she mumbles sleepily. 

“Hey,” he protests taking mild offence that one wasn’t a clear-cut winner. 

“You make a mean chocolate soufflé,” Felicity shrugs. Nothing it appears could pull her out of this blissed out state. 

Nothing except the loud ringing from her tablet, signalling that the searches were complete. Almost instantly Felicity’s body tenses as she springs into an upright position before scrambling off the bed to grab her tablet. Oliver whisks over to her side and quickly drapes a robe over her as he watches over her shoulder.

“One location. Let me just run this search so I can get a better view of the layout of where it’s hidden.” Her fingers fly over the tablet and Oliver watches as a series of symbols and diagrams begin to load. It had only been a few months but standing there watching her work, Oliver could not comprehend how he and Palmer had ever operated without her. 

A wry grin crosses his face as he remembers life before Felicity. There was a lot o bickering on his part and hurt feelings on Palmer’s side. When Felicity joined them, she balanced them out. She was the bridge between his brusque ways and Palmer’s never ending sunshine and rainbows. Palmer to his credit had been a big enough person to push aside the reservations he had about Felicity. They even managed to develop a nice camaraderie and it appeared they both enjoyed the nerdy banter and god awful cheesy humour that he, Oliver, did not care for or understand. He made a mental note to take Palmer out for a drink, or maybe dinner. Palmer was the sort who enjoyed dinner. Called them man dates. 

“You know how my idea was to write a code that could piggy back on Starling’s network to scan?” Felicity looks at him expectantly, her eyes bright with trepidation. She doesn’t wait for his response though and forges ahead.

“Let’s just call it a scan because I don’t have the time to get into the specifics of it. Plus it’s a long and boring explanation anyway. We just want results so I will keep going. Well anyway, so we are scanning the city for signature traces of large quantities of metals, metals we know make up the original Markov device, the one that Merlyn told you about. Well the scan has led to this abandoned gas station and adjoining supermarket that went bankrupt years ago. Do you want to know what is convenient about supermarkets?” Felicity shoots him an enquiring look that lasts for all of two seconds before she continues. “You guessed it, storage. Lots of storage space for a machine that can cause mass destruction. What’s more it’s well within the radius to flatten the Glades but it will also bring down the next two suburbs. Not that Merlyn cares because why worry about killing a few hundred extra people if you are planning on killing thousands anyway.” 

Felicity exhales and lets out a long breath. Oliver can see her trembling and begins to rub her shoulders in an effort to calm her down. 

“You did brilliant Felicity, just like I knew you would. I’ll call Ray and we’ll discuss what to do next. I assume it’s not as simple as running in and disabling it.”

“No…would be nice but it would have been nice to just have ONE earthquake machine instead of two. You call Ray and we’ll head to the Bunker. I want to check a few things using the more powerful machines down there.”

Felicity marches towards the bedroom door purposefully. Oliver sticks out an arm to grab her hand, gently pulling her back. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” he quirks an eyebrow at her.

“I’m just going out to put my shoes one,” Felicity nods at her bare feet. 

“Clothes,” Oliver smiles at her adorably vague expression despite feeling the familiar pang of concern creeping into his stomach again. Felicity was well lost in this crusade, in a way that seemed completely out of character for her.

“Ahh yes! Clothes would be good! Keep it civilized in the Bunker!”

***

“Based on everything you’ve told us about Merlyn and the very fact that he created this back up machine, I don’t think it’s going to be simple to disable it, or to even get close to it so I can examine it.” Felicity’s brow furrows. She really needs to get a good look at that machine to find out how to begin to disable it. Studying the plans off the bullet ridden lap top had only revealed what materials were needed to construct it and comparing the plans for the second device to the first device there appeared to be a marked difference between the two devices. The second one was created to work on an even larger scale to cause greater devastation that the original.

“He’s going to rig it with traps for sure. There is no way Merlyn would just leave this unguarded if there wasn’t already plenty of traps to get rid of anyone who might discover it.” Oliver glances over to Ray and meets his eye. “Ray and I will go and try to see what traps we are dealing with.” 

“We can’t waste any more time waiting around. It’s too late to do anything about it tonight but I’ll track Merlyn’s whereabouts tomorrow and if it’s clear we should pay the site a visit. If you boys can set off the traps and create a path for me to examine it, I can study it to see what I need to do in order to shut down.” Felicity’s tone is firm but neutral as she gears herself for protest from Oliver. 

“I’ll get past the traps and Ray can examine the device,” Oliver counters as expected. 

“You’re going to need backup for those traps and we are going to need both sets of eyes for that device. We’re dealing with thousands of lives here Oliver. Not the time to be overprotective,” Felicity answers him calmly.

“Felicity is absolutely right on this Oliver. Two sets of eyes are better than one. It would be ridiculous in this situation for one of us to try and relay second hand information to each other. Nothing beats examining the real deal up close.” Ray siding with Felicity earns him a scowl from Oliver who knows they make perfect sense and he is out numbered in this instance. 

“Fine but I go in first and you two only go after I disable all the traps. Even you Ray.”

“It’s our first mission as a trio,” Ray chirps enthusiastically clapping his hands together before high fiving Felicity who indulgently humors him.

“Guys,” Oliver clucks disapprovingly and rolls his eyes at them. 

*** 

“Guys,” Oliver calls softly as Felicity and Ray continue to circle the device, Felicity’s frown growing larger by the minute. Ray glances back and forth between the various cables on the machine and Felicity’s face, his expression oddly grim, something Oliver has never witnessed before. “Guys is it like the original device? Can you disable it now?” 

“That would be a hard no,” Felicity answers, her fingers feeling around as she examines a bunch of wires. She and Ray exchange another look that definitely spells no good. “There appears to be a complicated network of fail safes attached to this. Whoever designed this has made it so that their machine can only be stopped at the expense of someone making a sacrifice. There are a series of triggers which…” Felicity trails off and Oliver can see the mental calculations taking place in her brain. 

“It’s pretty much rigged like this building Oliver. Only instead of the lasers and motion activated arrows and darts that you set off, this thing is rigged to blow up whoever is close enough to disable it…IF…and there is a big IF attached to this, they can even disable this at all.” 

“If you can’t disable it right now we will need to go. We can’t stay here much longer,” Oliver tells them. They really needed to get to a safe place where they could discuss their next move. Loitering around the dangerous device before they had a clear plan of how to stop it was not an option.

“Just a few more pictures.” Felicity snaps pictures furiously with her phone. “The only thing I need to neutralize this thing is more time, which unfortunately is the only thing we do not have.” She fiddles with what looks like a handful of switches before looking up again. “We don’t have many choices left at this rate. I have an idea. It’s a risky idea but I think it’s the only thing we can do now that it’s come to this.”

*** 

“You want us to go and capture Merlyn tonight?” Oliver asks in disbelief. “Felicity we just got back from investigating the second device.” 

“Which is precisely why you need to go and handle him right away. How long do you think it will be until he goes to the site to check on his machine? A few days at most. Tomorrow if we’re unlucky. I pinged his phone Oliver and he is in Starling tonight, at his home which makes it the best time to snatch him up and lock him into that cell Ray built, which now that I think about it is kinda creepy that you guys built your own cell. Have you ever kept anyone down there for an extended period of time? Who did you keep?” The glances from Oliver and Ray tell Felicity that she’s veering off track so she gives her head a quick shake to stop herself from rambling off onto a different train of thought.

“My point is we cannot sit around and wait for him to return to the site. Once he knows that someone has gone in to check it out, everything is out of our control as we have no idea what he would do.”

“So you’re saying capture him on our terms. Felicity I agree with you we need to do something about Merlyn but even if we hold him here I can’t guarantee that he will talk or tell you how to diffuse the machine without any casualties.”

“He might give something away if you guys just question him and use your super spy skills to observe his body language,” Ray chimes in, glancing from Oliver to Felicity.

Oliver starts to nod in agreement but pauses midway to give Ray a sharp look. Why did Palmer suggest that Felicity was trained to read body language? He had no doubt that Felicity was intelligent, no one doubted that however it was odd of Palmer to suddenly imply that she was somehow trained in observing people. He was about to scowl at Palmer for reverting to his old suspicions when he noticed the other man’s relaxed expression. Clearly the comment just slipped out and Palmer had not intended for it to be a jibe or accusation towards Felicity. 

“Ray has a good point. One of us can go in and float theories on how to neutralize the device while you observe his reactions. At the very least we could gain further clues as to what we’re potentially facing in terms of fallout.” Felicity seems unaffected by Ray’s earlier comment. In fact she brightens up at his suggestion.

“I’ll bring in Merlyn. You and Ray stay here and study the photos to see if you can make any more progress on disabling it without setting it off.” Oliver turns his heel, meaning to make a quick exit.

“No way,” both Ray and Felicity chorus in unison.

“Bring back up,” Felicity tells him gently. “I can work this out on my own here and when you both bring Merlyn back here safely, Ray and I can continue to study the machine.”

They exchange a look and Oliver knows it’s futile to argue with her, Ray meanwhile is nodding earnestly with a grave look on his face.

“Stay safe,” Felicity addresses both of them, giving them a gentle smile. Ray smiles back and nods at her before indicating that he was going to walk off to give them some time alone. 

“I don’t know why he thinks we need a special good bye,” Felicity wraps her arms around Oliver anyway. He was going to come back just like he always did long before he met her. 

“I know you’re going to come back to me.” There were so many things that could go wrong. Felicity felt like they were at the edge of the precipice preparing to jump. In some ways it was freeing. This mission, this secret she was carrying, everything they did from tonight would bring her one step closer to being able to put all this behind.

“I’ve always survived and now I have even more reason to.” Oliver leans down to kiss her on the forehead.

***

“Director Waller you can’t be serious about taking out everyone tonight?” John stares at his boss in disbelief. Many years of training has ensured that he is able to school his features so he doesn’t give any hint of the absolute horror he feels for Felicity as Waller calmly dictates her orders. “You’ve received the intel from Agent Smoak. Queen may have been involved the League once but he’s clean from this Undertaking business and his partnership with Merlyn is a ruse.”

“Consider it justice for his old crimes,” Waller responds crisply having already rationalized this in her mind. “He’s killed a great deal number of people on behalf of the League and in his previous life as an assassin.” 

“So have we.” John knows better than to challenge Waller once she’s made up her mind, yet the sheer one track blindness of the woman never ceases to shock and horrify him no matter how often he’s seen it on display, her seemingly rational yet erratically ruthless decisions always springing up at some point. The trouble with Waller was that no matter how high handed her methods were, she was always able to rationalize and justify them for the sake of the greater good and she always appeared to succeed. No one scrutinized the cost of her results. “Queen is working as part of some vigilante duo with Ray Palmer to protect Starling. I don’t understand your need to take him out. Do you plan to take Palmer out too? He’s innocent in all of this and apart of being reckless with that suit of his and partaking in vigilante activities he has never done anything that warrants a termination order.” 

“Palmer is to be spared if he’s not in the way,” Waller responds casually before she refocuses her attention on John, watching him coldly and methodically while she speaks. “ARGUS killed Oliver Queen’s parents. Goodness knows they deserved it but if Queen ever finds out I do not want any trouble in the future. Have you heard the Chinese idiom Agent Diggle? If you are going to pull the grass, pull it out by the roots. Queen has a less that stellar past, coupled with ARGUS taking out both this parents, justifiably so, I do not want to leave him as a threat now that he’s outgrown his usefulness.”

“I’m assuming you have someone who can disable the second machine or a plan to disable the second machine since you intend on eliminating Merlyn too.” John pauses and choses his next set of words carefully. “How did you find out they were making a move tonight? Agent Smoak asked you for some more time to work on this before you intervene.”

Waller places her hands on her desk, leaning forward slightly and smiles. It was a smug smile from someone who thought highly of herself, someone who had known all along she were right. “Ms. Smoak may be green and entirely too naïve about her capabilities and the world in general but one thing she has done very well is the task I sent her in to do. She’s managed to turn Oliver Queen into a besotted puppy. One of our agents planted the bug while they were at a cinema together. Queen was too preoccupied, they were both too preoccupied to notice the clumsy patron brushing past him.”

“As for the machine,” Waller continues, “I have ways to take care of it. I want everyone and everything related to this Undertaking cleaned up.”

“What about Agent Smoak?” John can’t even begin to fathom what all this will do to Felicity. 

“Oh I’m sure Agent Smoak will march in here to throw a huge tantrum once she realizes that I’ve gone behind her back. But she’s handled this assignment remarkably well despite her secretive ways and complete disregard for authority. She’s delivered everything I’ve asked of her so I intend to keep my promise to her.”

*** 

John dials Felicity’s number as soon as he leaves Waller’s office. He should probably encrypt this call or do whatever it was Felicity was always rambling on about but there was no time for that. At the end of the day as long as Waller’s plans did not go too awry she was never one to delve into the specifics of how things panned out. That was of Waller’s largest faults but it would be convenient in this case. Waller wielded the blunt approach to everything and always wanted to look at the big picture, often omitting critical minor details along the way. 

“Waller has issued orders to take out Queen and Merlyn. I am to head there with a group if agents and ambush them. Palmer is to be spared if he does not stand in the way.” John does not bother to greet Felicity. There was no time for pleasantries and Waller being Waller he anticipated that she could very likely send a secondary team in addition to his. “You need to warn Oliver somehow Felicity. I can try to manipulate the situation and make it appear as if Queen alludes us but as long as Waller has her sights on him he is not safe.”

As soon as she hears John’s words across the line it is as if Felicity enters autopilot mode. There was no point explaining the intricacies of the second device and asking John to appeal for Waller to abandon her wretched plan. Waller simply did not work like that. Felicity could see clearly that it was her fault things had come to this. She couldn’t even blame Waller. This was classic Waller and Felicity in all her preoccupation with Oliver, her life with him, all her secrets had completely overlooked the Waller factor. How could she have been so stupid and so blind?

“Thanks for telling me John. I…I have to go now. You do what you need to do and do not compromise yourself for me okay?” Her voice is shaky but Felicity feels a great deal of conviction in her words. It has finally come to this. She deluded herself happily for long enough and now it was time to repent for every bad decision she’d made along the way. The least she could do was keep John out of her mess and not drag him down with her. 

“Felicity I can botch up the mission to ensure that Queen escapes and you can tell him when he returns that you’ve hacked into ARGUS and found intel that the head of ARGUS has issued a death warrant for him.” Felicity was so close to getting everything she wanted John just didn’t have the heart to see it all fall apart for her. Not to mention what would happen between her and Queen if he were to learn the truth.

“I can’t John. I love you all the more for suggesting it, for wanting to give me my crazy deluded Happily Ever After but we both know there is only one way I can ensure Oliver’s safety. I can’t let you get involved in this and I can’t gamble with Oliver’s life. Waller’s most likely sent in two teams. I have to go now John. I don’t have much time left.” 

Felicity hastily punches in the code to put the Bunker on lockdown before making her way to her car. As she reverses out of the parking lot Felicity switches on the comms. 

“Oliver…Oliver I need you to listen to me carefully.”

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe sorry about the cliffy! It is a bit mean of me! But at least I didn't leave you with them at odds!


End file.
